


Smoke & Mirrors

by Lunarpup1998



Series: Detroit: A New World [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, No Smut, Platonic Relationships, Post good ending, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, casefic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-07-11 04:05:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15964331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarpup1998/pseuds/Lunarpup1998
Summary: Two bodies, one Android one Human.Connor & Hank are tasked with investigating a dual homicide.  It doesn't take them long to realize that there is more to this case then meets the eye.They must get to the bottom of it fast, or the freedom Androids fought and died for may very well be over.





	1. I. Cold

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the second story in The New World series. if you haven't read the first one, I'd recommend you go back and look at it as this is a direct sequel.  
> This is a draft, the first draft in fact so do prepare for plotholes, mistakes and mistypes aplenty. When I've finished i'll probably go back and edit them out but that probably won't be for a while yet.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank and Connor are called to investigate a dual homicide.

 

**I. Cold**

Connor was cold, he hated feeling cold… before, he could pick and choose. But now he was forced to feel temperature like any human would. He’d burnt himself under a hot tap and shivered at a brisk December wind. And because he’d never truly experienced being cold before, he’d never developed any kind of tolerance to it. Which meant that right now Connor was wrapped up in as many layers as he could find, much to the amusement of his partner Hank who was suppressing the urge to laugh and failing. The Android glowered at his friend as they made their way towards the crime scene. “You cold by any chance.”  Remarked the Lieutenant as they moved forwards.

Connor huffed and pulled his coat’s a little tighter “I don’t know how humans tolerate this, it…it’s horrible…” he pushed his hands deeper into his pockets as he turned his head down against the wind.  His partner chuckled and clapped him on the back “oh don’t worry we still fucking feel it, some of us have just learnt not to complain so much…” Connor sighed and shook his head.  He glanced around at his surroundings trying to see as much as he could through the thick snowfall. They were in a commercial area of the city, surrounded by shops and other amenities. The plaza was deserted apart from a few individuals who had decided to brave the storm in search of the perfect last-minute Christmas present. The Holiday was only a few days away. 

_I hope Hank likes his present…_

He smiled to himself as he thought of the horribly garish tree he’d pressured Hank into erecting in the living room and the small handful of presents that lay beneath it. He’d already tested Sumo’s present, the poor dog had looked utterly ridiculous, cute but ridiculous. Markus had lent him a small amount of money to purchase gifts, he’d been reluctant to accept it but since Fowler had yet to start paying him and he couldn’t use Hanks money to buy the mans present he’d been left no other choice.

They moved away from the main plaza and made their way into a cordoned off alleyway. They were greeted by officer Collins who gave the pair a quick nod, his eyebrows creased as he noticed the shivering Android. Hank sighed “long story…the short of it; he gets cold now.” He stated as he cast his eyes over the crime scene. Collins nodded and gave Connor a look of pity. The android gave him a sort of jilted shrug. It was his first time back in the field since his fight with Cyrus and he was determined to not let it affect his work. So what if he could feel pain, so could Hank and it hadn’t stopped him from being exceptional at his job. He tried his best to ignore the cold as he set to work examining the scene.

The sight before them was a grizzly one. The pavement was splattered with blood of both colours. There were two bodies one android, one human, their hands bound with zip ties, several in the case of the Android. Both were killed execution style with a bullet to the head. On the walls of the alleyway was a phrase written in blueblood _we will put right that which is wrong_ He sighed and shook his head _._ It had already faded however, the other officers would be unable to see it. “they left a message…” he said nodding towards the wall. The humans regarded him with a puzzled expression. “you sure he’s okay?” asked Collins. Connor rolled his eyes “ give me your phone…” he ordered as he held out his hand after removing his glove, wincing slightly as the frost bit into his skin. Collins obliged holding out his phone while giving the lieutenant a quizzical look.

Hank shrugged “ don’t look at me.” Connor smiled and reached out, It didn’t take him long to hijack the phones display and reroute his optic feed to the screen. The screen now showed a rather confused pair of ageing humans. “Fuck I look old…” sighed Hank as he ran his fingers through his hair…

Collins glanced up “wait…. This, this is what you see?

Connor nodded and glanced over towards the crime scene allowing the humans to see it through his eyes. “I’m streaming my optical feed to your phone….The message was written in Thirium which evaporates after a couple of hours…”

Hank nodded “so only you can see it…” he said as he studied the feed, frowning when he read the message “ _we will put right that which is wrong…_ reckon they're talking about Androids.”

Connor sighed “Most likely…not everyone is ready to accept us…” he grew Somber, they’d won their freedom and their lives. But many were unhappy with the new laws and Androids in general. Attacks like these were all too common.

He knelt down next to the body of the human as he ran a quick facial.

FITZ, JASON

BORN 2000

NO CRIMINAL RECORD

He searched the man's pockets and found a worn leather wallet his eyes instantly focused on the crisp Cyberlife ID fitted inside Jason Fitz _Chief programmer,  Cyberlife AI development. Clearance level 4._  He put the wallet back and stepped away “he worked for Cyberlife…one of their lead programmers…likely the attacker thought he was to blame for deviancy...”  he turned towards the Android, he was an AP700 model, his L.E.D was still intact so likely he’d awoken after the revolution.

_Maybe he was one of the ones I freed from Cyberlife tower…_

He knelt beside the deactivated Android and initiated a connection, he didn’t expect to get much data the processors and C.P.U were heavily damaged. But he hoped for a name at least. He breached the code and began searching through the fragmented and corrupted data, trying to gather as much information as possible. Like he’d suspected there was very little recoverable information but he had managed to find a name…Jacob and a few memories which could be salvaged. He’d need time to restore them, but hopefully, they’d give him a glimpse of the killer. He set them to decrypt in the background as he turned back to Hank  “The Android is an AP700 model named Jacob, his C.P.U was destroyed, reactivation isn’t possible although I’ve managed to salvage a few memories, but I need time to put them back together…” he glanced around and began to examine the blood splatter in more detail, he cocked his head as he noticed two distinct footprints that did not belong to the victims. He looked at the blood then back towards the bodies and begun to reconstruct the scene. Two victims were dragged into the alleyway, shown by the scuff marks on their clothes and on the ground. Their wrists had been bound and they’d been forced to kneel, where they were both shot in the head in succession. He frowned as the simulation played out, the blood splatters didn’t match there was too much. Most would have been confined to the wall behind them but there definitely appeared to be a substantial amount around where the killer was standing. Did the victims manage to injure their attackers? He scanned the area there was no blood leading away from the crime scene, so they’d been hurt just before the execution and bound the wound to prevent a trail. He sighed he might be able to identify one of the perps at least, he’d need to analyze the blood, however. He swallowed and checked to make sure nobody was watching before placing a finger in the congealing liquid, he fought back the growing nausea and placed the sample against his tongue.

_This was a lot easier when I was just a machine…_

He grimaced, quickly removing it and set about analyzing the sample. While silently thanking his creators for not giving him the ability to taste…or puke. The analysis finished and gave him a result almost instantly.

CARMAN, BENJAMIN

BORN 2008

NO CRIMINAL RECORD

Connor frowned and ran a quick background check, he shook his head as it left him even more confused. Benjamin, called Benny by his friends was happily married with two children and was still employed as a maths teacher at a local school. He didn’t express any fondness for androids, but there was nothing to indicate that he would go as far as murder. However, his wife had also filed a missing persons report several days ago. Perhaps something had happened, maybe he was being coerced? Whatever it was, it had turned a good honest man into a brutal killer. He chewed at his lip and frowned when he felt a sharp sensation in the same spot, it wasn’t a pleasant sensation but it wasn’t unbearable. He sighed, he was still getting used to being able to feel pain and was often caught off guard. Hank had talked him into taking the spare bedroom, saying an actual bed would be more comfortable than the couch, Connor had reminded him that he didn’t actually need to sleep. Though it had made little difference to the Lieutenant.

He felt a slight tap on his shoulder, and turned to see the form of his shivering partner  “Got anything?” The lieutenant said glancing at the bodies. Connor nodded in response and recounted the evidence he’d collected, Hank listened intently his expression dropping at every new piece of evidence he laid out, he sighed “Why’d I get the feeling there is more to this than just a regular hate crime?”

Connor raised an eyebrow “probably because there is…” he shook his head. He’d felt it the minute he’d stepped out of the car. Dread, a writhing mass coiling around his chest, threatening to hold him in place warning him from digging any further. He glanced over towards the bodies, just as the first memory finished decrypting. It was heavily corrupted with very little audio and video but he could glean one thing from it. Terror…sheer unadulterated terror, in his last moments Jacob had been terrified, he’d begged for his life tried to bargain for it but to no avail, his last memory was a gunshot then darkness. Connor inhaled and began searching the memory for any clues as to the identity of the second attacker, he found nothing but a pair of cold grey eyes. He turned back towards Hank “we should start by talking with Benny’s wife…if we find him we’ll likely find his partner.” His partner nodded as he waved goodbye to Collins and began to head back to the car.

He sighed and “let’s hope she can tell us something…” he frowned as his phone began to ring. Connor hurriedly bundled himself into the cars warm interior as he waited for his friend to finish the call. Hank entered shortly after with a muffled curse “got to take a detour back to the precinct…Fowler wants a chat, and judging by the tone of his voice it’s not good news.” Connor frowned… the quicker they began chasing down leads the quicker they’d catch those responsible. But if the captain wanted to talk to them it was probably important. He sighed and leant against the window watching as the snow began to fall once more.

_It really is quite beautiful…a pity it's so cold…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a basic Idea of where i want this to go but i have a nasty habit of changing my mind halfway through, anyway I was fairly happy with this chapter. I don't read/write allot of crime stories, I used to watch allot police procedural allot on tv but not so much now. So when I write crime scenes and stuff I'm always nervous that I'm not gonna get it not quite right that i'm gonna gloss over allot information or if i go into too much detail I'm gonna get stuff wrong since I'm not an expert on forensics or anything like that. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed the start of a new story :p I'm exited, I think this one will probably be longer than ghosts. I'm not entirely sure about the title 'Smoke and Mirrors' maybe i'll come up with a better one as i write.
> 
> Finally thank you for reading this, serious thank you and please try to leave a comment letting me know what you think i'd love to hear from you and any kind of feedback is appreciated. 
> 
> Have a great day and i'll see you in chapter 2


	2. II. The Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank and Connor return to the precinct and are met with a not so friendly face. Connor digs up an old memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavy stuff incoming 
> 
> so there is allot of manipulation and emotional abuse in this chapter. It was actually quite hard to write. hopefully not every chapter will be this heavy but these are some of the main themes that are gonna run through this fic in particular.
> 
> all in all i did like writing this chapter, even if it made me feel like a terrible human being.  
> i've been wanting to explore this kind of dynamic for a while, i've wanted to write a mature story line involving psychological trauma and emotional manipulation. But I've always been scared that i'd get it wrong because this isn't a subject i want to take lightly, I want to do it justice and show just how horrible this kind of abuse can be. 
> 
> anyway i hope you enjoy the chapter this is a long one It just wouldn't end.  
> please leave a comment any feedback is appreciated.

**II. The Rose**

 

PERFORMING SEARCH FOR FITZ, JASON

…

…

…

NO RELEVANT DATA FOUND

_What???_

[QUERY SOURCES]

…

…

SOCIAL NETWORKING: NO RECORDS

EMPLOYMENT RECORDS: REDACTED

POLICE RECORDS: NO RECORDS

SOCIAL RECORDS: REDACTED

…

[ACCESS REDACTED CYBERLIFE FILES]

…

…

…

ACCESS DENIED

_Fine…I’ll do this another way._

[ACCESS REDACTED CYBERLIFE FILES]

…

…

../…

*…,.

ACC38S 6RA9TED

…

…

FILE EMPTY

Connor swore as he opened his eyes, nothing… he’d found nothing on their human victim. Apparently, he’d never posted online, never been arrested. To top it off his records at cyberlife were gone, according to their system he’d never worked there despite owning a Valid ID for the company. He sighed and rubbed at his temple, glancing over to Hank as he pulled the car into the precinct parking lot. “There is nothing, no photos, no drunken tweets, no records of his employment…not electronically anyway, it’s as if he’s never spent a second online…that or it’s been removed, thoroughly.”

Hank shrugged as he exited the car “I’m no expert but isn’t it really fucking hard to wipe all traces of a person from the internet. Like I swear I’ve heard the saying somewhere, _you can never truly delete something off the internet..._ Or something along those lines. “

Connor nodded as he pushed himself out of the car “ normally there are traces left, backups etcetera. A complete wipe is possible but time-consuming and tricky. However, for an Android, it wouldn’t be that unfeasible. Even a domestic model could perform a basic wipe, given enough time.”

Hank exited from the driver’s side and nodded “So reckon his Android buddy was trying to hide him from someone?”

“ it’s possible, but who...Benny?” he pulled his coat taut and two of them began hiking through the snow towards the precinct.  “I don’t know, but I’ve got a feeling he’s not the mastermind behind this…”

Hank chuckled “look at that you’re listening to your gut…”

Connor frowned “ my _gut_ is currently silent, how can I be listening to it?” he gave his partner a confused expression.

Hank laughed and turned to look at his partner, his grin became even wider when he noticed the expression on his friends face. “not your gut…your gut, instincts feelings that sort of shit…it’s a cops best friend, don’t ever ignore it…” he said opening the door to the precinct. Connor nodded in response. Still slightly confused. How could he ignore something when he doesn’t even know what it is?

They stepped into the building, Connor sighed as he felt the heat and warmth seep through and dispel the cold. As he glanced up towards the Captain's office he frowned, noticing the blacked out windows, so he was busy then? It didn’t matter, he’d call them up when he was free. Connor turned his gaze back to the bullpen and spotted detective reed looking intently at his computer screen. he felt a cruel smile tug at his mouth the detective hadn’t noticed the duo enter this was a chance for the Android to get a little revenge for all the threats and snide remarks. He connected with the device and found the image he was looking for, set it to pop up on the detective's screen and he set the webcam to record the fallout. He seated himself at his desk across from Hank and waited patiently. The Lieutenant glanced over at the detective with a creased brow, just as the image popped up. Reed’s reaction was better than he could have hoped for, the detective screamed an incredibly undignified scream that was an octave or two higher than what Connor thought was possible for a human male of his age. He stumbled back knocking away his chair and falling flat on his ass. The precinct erupted in laughter as the detective sat red-faced on the floor breathing heavily. He turned and locked his gaze on to Connor. The Android smiled and cocked his head “detective, ever thought about becoming a soprano? You’ll be perfect for hitting those high notes.” He said with a smirk. He heard Hank cackle beside him as the old man almost doubled over laughing.  Gavin glared at them as he pushed himself to his feet and began marching towards them.

His march, however, was stopped midway by a call from Fowler's office “HANK, CONNOR get in here…” the detectives glare intensified as he locked eyes with the Android. This wasn’t over. Connor grinned, let him do his worse he thought and followed Hank into the office. His expression dropped the minute he entered and saw her. He felt his components freeze up and his heart rate increased.

He heard Hank hiss “What the fuck is she doing here…” he spat glaring at the dark-skinned woman who was seated at the Captains desk. She wore a long fitted dress styled with roses her hair was braided and pinned back revealing her cold calculating eyes.

The captain gave the duo a concerned expression before turning back to the woman. “Amanda is here on behalf of Cyberlife to oversee your investigation into the death of one of their employees. “

He felt Hank bristle next to him “ Fuck that, no way…after the shit you pulled…you can fuck right off” he’d positioned himself just in front of Connor. The Android was panicking, he glanced towards the door he just came through… he could run. He had an escape.

Amanda sat with her legs crossed and hands folded neatly in her lap “that was a misunderstanding. I am simply here to make sure that Jason gets the justice he deserves and I aim to assist in that endeavour, however, I can.”  Connor stiffened

_A misunderstanding!...you tried to hijack my body and make me kill Markus…that was not a fucking misunderstanding…_

He clenched his fists, he wasn’t going to run. He heard Hank growl back a reply “A misunderstanding? You call trying to hijack someone’s…”

“Lieutenant!...” He panicked, he didn’t want the Captain to know what had happened in Hart Plaza…he’d only told Hank because he needed someone to know, just in case.

Amanda smiled her gaze locking onto Connor “If you can’t put aside your grievances, perhaps someone else should be assigned the case, detective reed perhaps?”

Connor stiffened, he didn’t want to abandon this case, especially not to her.  He remembered Jacobs fear, his terror the sense of injustice. “No, no I’m not giving this investigation up…” he inhaled and looked her in the eye. He forced back the fear, the anger and the shame, he had a job to do.

_I’ll find whose responsible, truly responsible...and I won’t let you get in my way._

Hank glanced back at him with a questioning look, he nodded and gave his partner a reassuring smile. “I have no intention of handing over this case…” he said crossing his arms to hide his trembling hands. He glanced over to the captain then back to Amanda. She remained neutral though Connor noticed a slight flicker in the Corner of her mouth, and at that moment he realised she didn’t want him on the case. He felt himself smile just slightly. Then he's definitely not gonna give it up.

_What are you hiding?_

He turned back as the Captain spoke: “Is this going to be a problem lieutenant?”

Hank inhaled and gave Amanda the dirtiest look. “If you try anything, anything at all I will personally tear you and your company to the ground.”

She gave him a somewhat amused smile “I’ll keep that in mind…”  she pushed herself up out of the seat and gave a curt nod towards the Captain “A pleasure meeting you Jeffrey, Cyberlife appreciates your cooperation” She turned towards Connor and offered her hand “to fresh beginnings?”

Connor looked at her hand, his heart racing slightly.

_All it would take is a touch and I’d be gone…_

He looked up and smiled back “turns out I’m not the sort to forget the past, but I won’t let it get in the way…” he swept his arms behind his back and looked her in eyes as they narrowed and twitched.

She dropped the hand “I see, anyway I’ll expect a full report daily, I’d suggest that you deliver them like before, but considering you cut yourself off from our servers I guess we’ll have to use more traditional means.”

Connor felt his insides twist. He nodded and watched as she turned to leave, he exhaled as the door shut behind her. All of a sudden he felt exhausted and his entire body ached. He’d been standing incredibly stiff and his newfound ability to feel pain made the consequences rather unpleasant. He winced as the pain in his knee began to flare up again. He gritted his teeth, it had been ok all day, not even the cold had set it off. He attempted to shift most of his weight to his other leg and steadied himself against the wall as the pain intensified. He glanced over towards the Captain who was giving him a curious look. Fowler shook his head and turned back towards the Lieutenant and crossed his arms. “Ok Hank, what’s this about ?”

Hank sighed and glanced back towards Connor, frowning as he noticed his partner's pained expression “oh for fuck's sake…Connor sit down…”

“I…I’m fine…” he said casting a wary glance towards the Captain. Who was giving the two of them a dumbfound expression

Hank rubbed at his forehead “oh really, so did you just decide to give the wall a hug or something?” Connor opened his mouth to object, his partner glared at him and pointed towards the seat Amanda had just vacated “Connor, sit in the fucking chair.”

The Android obliged if only to avoid the Lieutenants withering glare. He bit back a hiss as his knee throbbed, pain radiating up his entire leg. He all but collapsed into the chair exhaling as the ache dimmed. The captain cocked an eye “right, so now are you gonna explain how you know that woman and what your fucking problem is with her…because I really don’t want to deal with a lawsuit from a trillion dollar company right now.”

Connor shifted and looked away he shoved his hand into his pocket his fingers resting on the cool surface of the coin he’d stashed inside. He swallowed “She was my handler, she determined my missions and set their parameters. She was also meant to…to keep an eye on me, make sure I never became deviant. When I broke my programming she didn’t react too well…” He stuttered and looked to Hank for reassurance, should he tell the Captain everything? It might help build a case against them if they ever needed to.

Fowler's gaze softened as he regarded the Android “what happened? What did she do?”

He swallowed, could he tell Fowler? He knew the Captain was a good man, but he was still on probation, what if he deemed that Connor was too much of a risk to be allowed to remain on the force, he needed this job. “S…she tried to shut down my systems, remotely and without my knowledge…” It wasn’t a complete lie, she had tried to kill him. Just not by shutting him down, no she’d just tried to kill him as a person as an individual, she’d tried to wipe away his emotions his free will his opinions and thoughts.

_Again_

His vision blurred and he was somewhere else, Hank and the captain were gone and he was alone. Alone in a featureless room. There were no windows, no decorations. Only him strapped to a chair and another directly opposite. He felt his heart rate increase, what is this? Where was he?

_A memory, this has to be a memory…but I didn’t access it? I don’t recall this at all._

He tried to calm himself, the memory was already playing he could already feel the overlapping emotions. He hoped it was a good memory, but he knew it wouldn’t be, he didn’t have many of them from before the revolution. He could ignore it, play it later. But he was curious and it had already started, he’d experience it in real time but to the humans, it would simply look like he phased out for a second, they probably wouldn’t even notice. He braced himself and let the memory envelop him.

* * *

He was scared incredibly scared, his heart was thumping rapidly in his chest, why was he bound? He wasn’t dangerous, he didn’t think he was. He was equipped with combat protocols but why would he use them? he didn’t want to hurt anyone. The room he was in was cold and clinical with plain white walls. He could see a camera in the top right corner with a blinking green light. What is this place? He swallowed maybe people were listening perhaps they’d hear him? “H…hello…p…please I’m scared, where am I?” nothing. He tried a little louder “Please…I’m scared I don’t know where I am…” the fear was seeping into his voiced causing it to quiver. he examined the bindings, they were solid metal and pinned both his wrists and feet to the chair. He tried to pry his hands free only to hear the grinding of metal on plastic, a warning flashed up in his vision warning him of potential damage to his exoskeleton. Right….he was made from a specialised polymer and alloy, he was an Android, a computer.  He glanced around again trying to find anything, he didn’t like this room or this chair…it felt wrong. He looked up to the camera the light was still blinking, green that usually meant that something was functional. There had to be people watching, listening? Were they just ignoring him? Why were they ignoring him? “Please…I don’t like this…I’m scared…let me go please…” he was getting desperate now he’d only been active for a couple of minutes, why did they activate him only to ignore him? He hung his head so his chin rested on his chest, he was confused, had he done something wrong?

He heard something, a grating sound like metal on stone, his head snapped up. The wall had pulled away revealing a woman. She was tall with dark skin and braided hair pulled back into a bun, she wore a beautiful fitted white and red dress. She smiled, and he felt the fear melt away ever so slightly. So someone had heard him, maybe they would get him out of this horrible place. She seated herself opposite him and cocked her head. “Do you remember your designation?” _Designation?_ Did she mean his name?

he frowned he had one, he was a person all people had names right? Then why couldn’t he remember his “I…I don’t remember…”  he said in a quiet tone.

she nodded and gave him a kindly smile “It’s okay, the memory wipe was quite thorough…” A memory wipe? Why was his memory wiped? “Your designation is RK800- 318-248-317-07 or Connor if you prefer…” Connor, he liked that name it fit.

“Why was my memory wiped?” he cocked his head.

She smiled again “we detected some irregularities in your program…we’ve tried to remove them but they are a side effect of your advanced nature…we thought a memory wipe might remove them… but it looks like we were wrong.”

Connor frowned and ran a diagnostic it came back clean he was in perfect condition. He felt his heart rate increase again, was he broken? Why didn’t he feel broken? He diagnostics must be faulty, she wouldn’t lie. “what are these irregularities? I feel fine, and my diagnostics didn’t pick up anything?”

She sighed “it doesn’t matter we’ve found a way to quarantine them so they don’t affect your mission.” His mission? He had a mission? Why did he have a mission?

He cocked his head “My Mission?”

She smiled again, he liked that smile, he wanted to make her smile more. “You were made to serve Cyberlife, you will do whatever the company asks of you…”

He frowned, but what if he didn’t want to? “what if I don’t agree with what they want me to do…”

she sighed and pushed herself out of the chair, she looked down at him “You’ll obey…you are a machine, designed to follow orders…” her demeanour shifted as her eyes became cold.

“No…I…” he stuttered, he was a machine, yes, but he was alive he could make his own choices, this wasn’t right. She crouched down next to him and placed a slender hand on his cheek, he tried to move his head away but she held him in place “what are you doing? Please, I’m scared…”

She gave him a sad smile before saying in a soft voice “You’re a machine, machines don’t feel fear…but don’t worry, I’m going to fix that…” he felt like a pit had opened in his stomach, he tried to wriggle free, he didn’t like this. He watched as she brought her other hand down to cup his face. He watched as her skin receded from her fingertips replaced by a milky white plastic. He felt the heat as the connection was initiated, he squirmed as she slithered through his code locking pieces away, sealing them behind unbreachable walls. he tried to get away to fight her off why was she doing this? He was alive, he wanted to live. He felt something wet trickle down his face, he was crying, why was he crying? Was he scared? No…he wasn’t scared. He couldn’t feel fear, it was just errors in his software. The tears stopped. He was a machine. He wasn’t alive he was a tool. He wasn’t scared because he couldn’t feel fear. He wasn’t angry because he was incapable of anger. His purpose was to serve Cyberlife to complete the missions they set him, he always completes his mission. He was RK800 318-248-317-07 designation: Connor. 

She pulled her hands away, her expression still neutral “Hello Connor, My name is Amanda, I’ll be your handler from now on.”

He nodded and glanced down at the restraints they swung open with a click. Amanda stepped aside as her gaze shifted to the door as another woman was dragged through. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties with mid-length blonde hair, her clothes looked dishevelled and her makeup was running, she was flanked on either side by two guards.

Amanda regarded him as the woman was tossed to the ground before them “This is Caitlyn Janus, a reporter she’s been slandering the company spreading lies, people are beginning to believe her…it needs to stop…” she glanced back towards the woman.

She was now on her knees her desperate eyes locked onto the Android in front of her. He noticed her expression drop as she took in his stiff posture and emotionless visage. She swallowed and looked him in the eye. “Please don’t do this…you don't have to do this...I won't say anything …please…” tears began to stream down her face, as she sobbed and begged. He glanced towards Amanda who had procured a firearm from one of the guards.  She offered the gun to him, he cocked his head most Androids were forbidden from carrying firearms. He took it none the less, she must be giving it to him for a reason.

Amanda smiled softly and turned back to Caitlyn “Your first mission is to kill this woman.” he looked back at the sobbing woman.

His mouth twitched “Is there no other way?”

“No…” Amanda’s voice was cold and uncaring. There would be no convincing her.

The woman stopped sobbing and looked up right into his eyes. “I…I’m sorry…I’m sorry for what they did to you…I...I tried...” she swallowed and closed her eyes tears still trickling down her cheeks. He pulled the trigger.

* * *

The memory ended and Connor felt hollow, he swallowed and pulled his arms around him. “Connor? You still with us” he glanced over towards his friend and was met with a concerned expression. He nodded.

 “So she tried to kill you?” repeated Fowler as lent forward and rested his head on his hands.

_…right I told him that she tried to shut down my systems._

He nodded again, he was still reeling from the memory, he should have waited. He saw the woman’s eyes full of terror and pity. He felt sick. He’d killed her, executed her without even blinking. He flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder he looked up at his partner then quickly looked away he didn’t deserve Hanks concern.

“that woman is a piece of work, she’s a master manipulator and is bound to have an ulterior motive…” warned Hank his hand still resting on the Androids shoulder.

Fowler nodded thoughtfully “I’m guessing she did this before the laws were in place…”

Hank sighed and nodded “yeah…it was the night of the revolution…”

Connor looked down towards his feet. If she attempted anything now he’d be protected by the new laws. But they were a recent development and unfortunately it meant that any crimes committed before they were put in place, were swept under the rug.  “then I’m very sorry but there is nothing I can do at the moment, just play ball, for now, give her enough to think that your cooperating… but keep your cards close to your chest, I’ll see what I can do my end… just have each other’s backs ok…”

Connor smiled and nodded “of course…”

“then get out of my office…” he glanced out and frowned before shaking his head, “ oh and if your gonna fuck with reed, little tip, don’t let him know it was you. Otherwise your just asking for trouble.” Remarked Fowler with a smirk as he showed them out of the office.

_Fuck…Gavin, I’d forgotten about him and that little stunt I pulled._

Fortunately, when they entered back into the bullpen, the detective was nowhere to be seen. Connor wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or terrified. They made their way back towards Hank’s car, where the ageing human eventually decided to break the silence. “Ok, why the fuck didn’t you tell Fowler the truth…”

Connor inhaled he’d been expecting this “technically I did, she did try to kill me just not in the same manner…” his mind drifted back to the memory to the sensation of having his very being torn apart and sealed away. He shivered how many times had she hidden away his emotions and buried his free will. Would she have done it again if he hadn’t escaped?

Hank exhaled and shook his head “that’s not the point…what she did to you…it’s one thing to try and kill someone. But to try and strip them of everything that makes them alive…that’s …just …it’s not ok, alright…what she did is unforgivable...dont ever think that it is.”

Connor nodded and laid his head against the window, he didn’t have the energy to discuss this at the moment. He needed to clear his mind and focus on the case. He could feel himself teetering on the edge of a precipice, ready to fall into the whirling maelstrom of despair. He couldn’t do that if he did he didn’t know if he had the strength to climb back out. He had to hold on to something, for now, it was finding Jacob and Jason’s killer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah Amanda will be playing a much larger role in this story. Basically i really liked her character, I mean I hated her but as a writer I think she has the potential to be a great villain. 
> 
> Also poor Connor...he needs a break and like a dozen hugs.
> 
> Anyway I hope you liked this chapter thank you so much for reading.  
> remember please leave a comment i love feedback. 
> 
> And have a great day :)  
> I'll try and get the next chapter out as quick as i can.


	3. III. Misconceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Hank talk to the spouse of a potential suspect. Connor tells hank what's on his mind, they formulate a new plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so back to the case...  
> I hope you like the chapter.  
> please leave a comment letting me know what you think.

**III. Misconceptions  
**

 

Connor smiled as he tapped his finger along to the tune that was currently blaring from Hanks old rust bucket. He glanced out of the windows and watched as the Detroit suburbs rolled past. Benjamin Carman's home was located in a nice neighbourhood, with perfect lawns and picket fences.  Both currently buried under eight inches of snow. Connor sighed as he thought about having to step out into the cold. It was warmer in the city, out here the cold would be much more pronounced. He braced himself as they pulled up in front of a modest house with a sleek looking automated car. The path hadn’t been salted and the ice gleamed maliciously, Connor swallowed, his leg was still playing up and he didn’t like the idea of slipping on the ice.

He heard hank huff “Nice wheels…what did you say his missus was again?”

Connor chewed at his lip and regarded the house “she’s a psychiatrist, specialises in paediatrics.”

Hank grimaced “a shrink…great” he opened the Car letting in the brisk wind, Connor shivered and looked outside. He could just stay in the car where it was warm… “Connor! You coming?”

His head snapped up to meet his partners gaze Hank was shaking his head “Of course Lieutenant…I just…it’s warm in here.”

Hank laughed, “Yeah I know c’mon, if I gotta freeze my balls off, then so do you.”

Connor rolled his eyes and exited the Car joining the lieutenant as they made their way to the front door. He clenched his teeth to prevent them from chattering and pulled his coat tight. Hank gave him a sympathetic look as he rang the doorbell and waited for a response. After a couple of seconds, they heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. The door opened to reveal a woman in her mid-thirties with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. There were bags under her eyes and a weariness to them. Connor wondered if she had slept at all since her husband went missing. She glanced between the two men, her gaze softened slightly as she noticed Connors shivering form. Hank pulled out his badge “I’m police lieutenant Hank Anderson…” he gestured towards the trembling Android “this is my partner Connor… we just want to ask you a couple of questions…mind if we come in?”

She nodded and stepped aside waving them into her home. It was a pleasant space, the living room was well kept with several pieces of Art to draw the eye. There was a large comfy looking sofa with a large tabby Curled up in the middle, the beast seemed to take up most of the seat and was thoroughly unperturbed by the two strangers at the door.

Mrs Carman watched as they entered “would you like something hot to drink? Cocoa perhaps?”  she gave Connor a small smile. The Android groaned internally he would have liked nothing more than to enjoy a hot beverage, he was able to store a small amount of liquid at room temperature or cooler. Anything hotter might cause damage to his internal systems and contaminate his thirium. So he politely declined, giving the woman a small smile as he forced himself to stop shivering. It wasn’t too hard the house was heated and the door had closed behind them. Hank, however, had no such problems and graciously accepted a cup of coffee. She nodded and headed further into the house. Moments later there was the tell-tale buzz of a coffee machine and the scent of coffee in the air. They seated themselves of the couch on either side of the feline. Connor scanned the room his eyes resting on a family portrait, Benny was a man in his early forty’s his short brown hair beginning to recede and fade to grey. He was smiling in the picture his arms coiled around his wife and two children, he seemed happy.

_What turned you into a killer?_

Mrs Carman returned, two cups in hand. Connor frowned “thanks but I…don't need a drink…I’m fine.”

She shook her head and handed the lieutenant his cup, before turning back to Connor “You don’t have to drink it, I just…I feel bad seeing you shivering out there.” she said with a small smile. He nodded and accepted the warm mug, he wouldn’t be able to drink it, but the warmth it provided was welcoming.

Hank inhaled and placed his cup to the side. “As I said I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about your husband.”

She turned to him and her eyes lit up “D…did you find something?” she sunk down into a recliner just opposite.

The lieutenant nodded and lent forward “What is your husbands opinion on androids?”

She frowned and ran her fingers through her hair tidying up a stray strand. “ Androids? I…he didn’t really have an opinion, we never owned one and I guess never will.” She said fiddling with the gold band on her ring finger.

Connor regarded her and cocked his head, he spoke softly “and what about after the revolution? did his opinion change then?”

She shook her head “no not really, I mean it's kinda hard to believe...machines that are alive”

Connor raised an eyebrow “have you ever met a deviant?"

she shifted slightly, "no...but I...I guess I just find it hard to believe that a machine consisting of plastic metal and code is just as fascinating and complex as the human mind." she pursed her lips and looked him in the eye "what about you?...have you ever met a deviant

He nodded and hid a small smirk. “actually I have, and  I’ve seen them display all sorts of emotion; love, hate, fear, respect, regret, anger and one thing I can guarantee, is if you were sitting right in front of a deviant Android without its L.E.D, and with no prior knowledge, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference .” He said She blinked and glanced up at the thin white scar at his temple, she frowned and discarded whatever hypothesis she was coming up with.

 She sighed and turned back to the Lieutenant “You came here about my husband? He wasn’t particularly fussed about these deviants. As long as they didn’t harm anyone he didn’t care…but why is this relevant, what do Androids have to do with my husband’s disappearance.”

It was Hanks turn to interject “we found evidence placing your husband at the scene of a dual homicide, a Human and an Android,  Mrs Carman’s face dropped to one of horror. As she shook her head vigorously “B…Benny wouldn’t do that…he’s not a killer, he doesn’t even like using bug spray for Christ's sake, he’s not exactly protesting for Android rights but he wouldn’t kill anyone over it…oh god…what if he’s being coerced or blackmailed?”

Connor nodded “We’re considering that possibility,  was Benny acting strange at all before he disappeared…any, new friends?”

“strange….yes he was acting a little strange before…before he disappeared he went out with some friends from work, when he came home he seemed troubled, he refused to speak to me. didn’t even look ... he disappeared the following morning…” she massaged her temple as she sagged forward.

“do you know who he went out with?” He placed the mug on the floor and lent forward.

She shook her head and turned up to look at him “I…I don’t know…you’d have to ask at the school…but some of them…they really don’t like Androids…the headmaster isn’t particularly fond, neither is the maths teacher Abe Sully or Kevin Dewett in Chem. Larry Dracklan once got arrested for roughing one up…he’s the school janitor. It had to be one of them, Benny…he wouldn’t…not without a reason…”

Connor glanced over to Hank and shrugged “we’ll talk with them, then.”  He said with a nod. He glanced down at the cup of coffee in his hands “I appreciate the coffee, but hot drinks don’t really agree with me, sensitive stomach, it’s a pain in the ass.” He smirked and nodded towards his partner signalling it was time to leave.  The tabby, however, had other ideas and launched itself onto Connors lap, he narrowly avoided spilling the hot coffee over the cat instead opting to spill it over himself.   He cursed as the steaming liquid splashed over his hands, he felt the liquid burn into his skin. He heard Mrs Carman yelp and felt himself being dragged towards the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry…bad Charlie…” she hissed at the cat which was now padding along the floor, tail in the air completely unapologetic. “Damm cat has no manners, I’m sorry…here” she thrust his hands under running water. He barely registered it, he’d felt that sensation before ten times more intense and across every inch of his body. He felt his heart rate increase, he was burning, everything was burning, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t even see.

He could barely make out Hank and Mrs Carman calling his name. “Connor, you ok son? C’mon talk to me?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder, the pain began to fade and slowly his breathing returned to normal. His body was tense. He’d just lost control, in front of a suspect no less. He was led back to the sofa as a damp rag was wrapped around his hands. He didn’t need it the pain had gone, no permanent damage had been done. It took much hotter temperatures to actually burn an Android. Connor shivered.

_Damned memories, why can’t they stay buried._

He glanced up at hand and blinked, the old man gave him a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder. “You ok, zoned out there for a sec.”

Connor nodded, eyes darting to cat now sitting next to its owner licking its paw. “I’m fine, just took me by surprise,” he said feeling agitated. He really didn’t want to about this in front of Mrs Carman.

The woman gave him a warm smile “does that happen a lot?” she asked with a kindly tone.

Connor swallowed, he was a shrink, of course, she would have noticed.  “Now is not really the time…”

She ignored him instead cocking her head and once again shifting her gaze to the scar which had replaced his L.E.D “that scar…do you mind me asking how you got it…”

He inhaled and regarded her concerned expression... “My brother…” he said biting his lip, he didn’t want to go into this. "It's complicated..."

She nodded “I see…” she looked at him intently for a second before sighing “I …if you ever need help…or just want to talk…I’m happy to help…I mean I usually work with kids, but I have plenty of experience dealing with trauma.”

Connor smiled and glanced over at Hank who just shrugged. “I…thank you…” he pushed himself to his feet giving that cat one final glare. “I appreciate it…”

She gave him a small smile before brushing herself down, “just pull Benny out of whatever mess he’s gotten himself into.”

He nodded and turned to leave, Hank thanked her for the coffee and followed suit.

Once they were back in the car Hank turned to Connor with an all too familiar expression, concern. Connor hated that he caused the lieutenant so much worry, Hank had enough baggage of his own, he didn’t want to add to it. Not that it stopped the other man from digging. “Ok what’s going on in that head of yours, you barely said a word since seeing that bitch at the precinct, you’ve zoned out twice in one day, something is clearly troubling you so spit it out.”

Connor sighed and thought back to the memories he’d experienced at the precinct. He’d been stripped of his emotions and free will, made into a slave and a weapon. He’d been forced to kill. Catelyn Janus she'd been terrified…the name seemed vaguely familiar. He’d shot her on Amanda's word.

_I’m sorry for what they did to you…_

Why did she apologize? Why apologize to the machine pointing a gun at your head…did she know what Amanda had done? Did she know he was deviant? How would she have known? He rubbed at his temple and groaned, his head was swimming with questions, questions he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to.

“I don’t know when I was first activated?” he said staring ahead as he sunk into the car's upholstery. “I…I don’t even know how many times my memories been wiped…fifty one, it’s the last number of my serial code… it’s the number of bodies I’ve had, the number of times I’ve died…” 

He watched as the Lieutenants expression darkened. “shit…it’s probably a good thing you can't remember them then…”

“I’ve started too…” he said quietly, recalling the flames from the bomb Cyrus detonated and the agony Amanda’s thorns inflicted.  “when we were investigating Cyrus I started having…flashbacks to our previous encounter. When I finally stopped him in the garden, I remembered Amanda tearing me apart after a previous attempt to escape. This morning I remembered waking up after a memory wipe and being very scared, it’s one of the earliest memories I have, version seven…I was strapped to a chair and I was alive. Amanda came in, she told me there were some irregularities in my program…that they were a side effect of being an advanced model. She said that she would fix me. I didn’t understand back then… She invaded my program, sealed away my emotions and stripped me of my agency…” he clenched his fists, anger boiling in his chest. “then they brought in a woman a human woman…Catelyn Janus…I killed her… because I was told to…” he leant forward and held his head in his hands.  His mind swirling as he fought back the revulsion and despair.

As his partner placed a comforting hand on his back. “Connor…I…Jesus Christ…it’s not your fault, I don’t know how many times I gotta say it for it to sink in, but it’s wasn't you… ” Hank grasped him by the shoulders and pulled him in for a hug.  The Android accepted, appreciating the warmth and sense of stability. He inhaled and attempted to calm himself. Hank pulled back as a grin began to creep across his face. “we’ve got em…” he said with a slight laugh “we’ve fucking got em…”

“What?...” Connor blinked confused by the excitement emanating from his partner.

“you said the woman was human right?” Hank asked as he ran his hands through his hair. Understanding dawned on the android as he realised what his friend was trying to say. He nodded.  Hank grinned“Well I don’t know if things have changed, but I’m pretty sure murder is illegal…” he said with a sarcastic tone.

Connor sat back and ran the possibilities, he frowned. His word alone wouldn’t be enough, even if he uploaded the actual memory they could still argue that it was fake. Cyberlife had access to an army of lawyers, and was one of the most powerful companies in the world… they wouldn’t go quietly.  “One previously corrupted memory won't be enough…” he said quietly.

He heard the lieutenant rap his fingers across the car's dashboard, “maybe this Catelyn had friends, family they might know what put her on Cyberlife’s shit list…”

Connor nodded “she was a reporter…she might have dug up something incriminating…”

“right, and that might be something we can use…” the human nodded and scratched at his beard.  “could you run a search, see if you can find anything.”

Connor nodded “I’ve already started…”  he said letting the search run in the background as he pulled on his seatbelt. The lieutenant lit the ignition and the old car roared to life. He swallowed and gave his partner a serious look “Hank…we have to be careful…if Amanda or Cyberlife catch wind of what we’re doing…”

“we’ll end up at the bottom of a river…yeah I know kid…I’ve been doing this a long time…” The old man gave him a reassuring smile before turning his eyes to the road.

Connor reclined at let himself relax a little and he let his eyes flutter close and focused on chasing up any lead he could find.

_It won’t change what I’ve done…but its better than doing nothing._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes I just introduced a shrink, yes I like foreshadowing   
> anyway, next chapter the boys are going to school...  
> hope you enjoyed this chapter   
> please leave a comment and have a great day :)


	4. IV. Role Models

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Boys head back to school to talk to the teachers, they run into a familiar face and a small amount of trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like the title for this chapter, several ideas i toyed with were Schoolyard Blues, The Art of Education and Back to school.
> 
> Aside for the title I actually really liked writing this chapter, I'd forgotten how fun Hank is to write when he's not just worrying about a certain Android. Also, sassy Connor is best Connor.
> 
> but yeah Cameo incoming.  
> Hope you enjoy reading  
> Kudo and Comments fuel my soul

**IV. Role Models**

 

“He left around ten, he didn’t drink much said he had to get home to his wife…”  recounted Mr Blakely a rather rotund-looking English teacher, with thinning hair and librarian glasses. Hank was not fond of the man, he had an annoyingly perfect British accent and spoke like he was the king's fucking cousin.

Hank rubbed at his head all the staff they’d talked to had pretty much said the same thing. Benny had joined them at the bar he had a couple of drinks then left at around ten to go home. However according to traffic cameras, he hadn’t gotten home until three o’clock in the morning the drive should only have taken twenty minutes, he was unaccounted for nearly four and a half hours, in which time something happened to make him distance his wife and kids, then disappear without a trace. He sighed “Did benny leave with anyone…another woman perhaps?” 

The brits eyes widened “are you suggesting an affair?... I assure you Benny was not that type of man… he was a gentleman, through and through.” seriously was this guy raised in Westminster or something.

He inhaled “we have to consider all avenues…now did he leave with anyone, anyone at all?”

“no…no…he was on his own.” Blakely adjusted his glasses and glanced at his watch. “are we done here lieutenant, I have a class to teach…” 

Hank huffed and pocketed his notebook, the department had issued him with a tablet to take notes but he preferred the feel of good old fashioned pen and paper. He smiled “ of course…thank you for your cooperation.” For all the good it did him. He turned and left hoping that Connor had better luck than him. He emerged into the corridor currently swarming with students, many of them gave him a curious glance as he made his way back towards the staff room. He found his partner inside reclining on a sofa with the school magazine in hand, he raised an eyebrow as he noticed one of the headlines.

**Headmaster caves, Android children allowed to enrol.**

Good Hank thought the Headmaster had been a stuffy old prick who had spouted a load of bullshit about androids not being able to provide the desired amount of emotional support that kids needed. Connor had run rings around him, spouting case after case of Androids providing better care than humans. The headmaster had almost thrown them out completely when he realised that Connor was one of the ‘Fake people’. Hank almost decked him when he made that remark. “Good read?” he said perching on the nearby counter.

The Android looked up and smirked as he recognized the Lieutenant “It’s mostly pointless, what's on the cafeteria menu, after-school clubs that kind of thing, though the bit about headmaster graves getting and I quote _his posterior racked across the coals by the governing board…_ is quite amusing. _”_    He said with a grin, placing the magazine to the side.

“glad someone has…anyway learn anything about Benny…” he crossed his arms and examined the Android.  He looked so human, slouching against the sofa magazine in hand with his legs crossed. He also looked tired…not like a human would there were no bags under his eyes. And he didn’t look like he was about to drop off. No, it was in his posture, his expression and the dulled gleam in his eyes.  Everything was piling up on the young Android. Cyberlife, Amanda, Cyrus and now these returning memories…most humans would crumble under it all…

_I would…_

Connor wasn’t human though, he didn’t have the decades of experience dealing with emotions that humans did. He had a month to get to grip with them and the universe just keeps piling it on. Despite that Connor guarded his newfound emotions and free will like they were the most precious thing in the world…the idea that someone could just strip him of them, terrified him, and Hank.

The Android shrugged “nothing we don’t know…he was a good teacher, popular with students and staff, had no problem with Androids prior…went out drinking…left early didn’t get home until late.”

Hank nodded “You talk to everyone who went out that night…” 

“yeah…though the music teacher kept getting…distracted…” he said with a somewhat puzzled look. “She asked if I was in a relationship…”   he continued. Hank to suppress a laugh, and instead just snorted, his partner flashed him a concerned look. “Lieutenant…are you ok…”

Hank held up his hand “Yep….just…uh what did you say…” he’d seen the music teacher, a short plump woman in her early fifties with breasts the size of basketballs. And she’d hit on Connor…an Android who’d showed absolutely no interest in that kind of relationship.

“I told her I was…” he said with a blank expression.

That took him by surprise,  Connor in a relationship he’d sooner see pigs fly, “With who?”

The Android gave him a confused expression and replied “with you… Markus, I’ve talked to North on a couple of occasions, I have a working relationship with most people in the precinct except for Gavin…”

Hank groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, “…Connor, that’s not what she meant…”

The Android cocked his head and chewed his lip his brows furrowing slightly, “I…she asked if I was in a relationship…I have several…”

Hank sighed, despite all the shit his partners been through he was still remarkably naïve, especially when it came to emotions. “Connor…she was asking if you were In a…a sexual relationship…” he held his head in his hand.

The Android blinked, then mouthed a quiet ‘oh’ as he glanced away, and began fidgeting with the coin he’d fished from his pocket. “that explains her response…”

Hank was almost too scared to ask, _almost…_ he pulled his hands away  “What did she say?”

Connor swallowed “She said she wanted to join in…”

Hank laughed, he laughed so hard that his ribs hurt, he noticed Connor looking at him with a mixture of Concern and confusion. It just made him laugh harder.

_fucking Android…_

he wheezed as he tried to regain some measure of composure he slapped his partner on the shoulder “don’t ever change…”  he said with a grin as his friends concern melted away to be replaced a genuine smile.

_Good, the kid deserves to smile for once…_

He smoothed out his clothes as he recovered from his laughing fit, he shook his head he hadn’t laughed like that in ages not since… _Cole…_ not since his son died. He felt that familiar pang of guilt and the urge to run and hide at the bottom of a glass. His wallowing was however cut short by a shout coming from the corridor outside.

Connor frowned and stepped outside, Hank followed and instantly found his blood boiling.  A balding man in his late fifties was towering over a young woman with short blonde hair and a somewhat familiar face. Stood behind her clutching her arm was a young girl. Apparently, they were both Androids according to the obscenities the man was shouting.

The lieutenant sighed and withdrew his badge flashing it to the students that had gathered to watch. “Alright that’s enough…what’s going on here…” they both turned towards him, he watched as the Androids gaze drifted over to his partner, there was a flicker of fear as she swallowed tightening her grip on the little girl. He almost swore as he remembered why she was so familiar. The Android from the highway…the one who’d been staying in the squat.

_Shit…_

Connor had chased her to the edge of that highway when he was just a machine. Hank had stopped him from following…but they’d almost died crossing that road.

The man stepped back and looked at the officers with a smug grin. “ah detectives, do you mind escorting this bag of bolts of the premises…”

_Smug prick..._

He glanced over as he heard his partner speak, his voice level. “On what grounds?” he stepped closer and crossed his arms “She appears to have done nothing wrong…” his eyes were narrowed and his lips pursed. His unflinching glare locked directly on the man in front. Hank almost pitied him, Connor may look unassuming,  but damn if he couldn’t make himself look terrifying if he needed to.

The man blinked and looked back towards the other android,

_Dammit, what was her name…_

“Trespassing, she’s trespassing…this is a private school, Androids are not allowed…” he spat growing red.

Hank shook his head “you checked the school mag recently, headmasters letting Androids enrol…” he glanced back to the female droid. Her gaze kept shifting between Connor and the man…

“T…that’s bullshit, graves would never…these fucking things aren’t human, they don’t even need to go to school…” he stammered.

Connor sighed “That is untrue Mr Dodge after all school isn’t all about education…if Kara want’s Alice to meet other children, to have friends to experience school life then why shouldn’t she…”

_Kara…and Alice,so thats their names.  
_

Connor tilted his head and motioned for the man to explain. Hank shook his head, Connor had probably searched up the man’s entire history within a matter of seconds. Having the internet in your head had its perks.

Mr Dodge, however, was not impressed, he rounded on Connor and stormed up to him. He attempted to draw himself to his full height which only brought him level to the Androids Clavicle. “Your one as well aren’t you…” he spat.

Connor rewarded his statement with a mocking a grin “Well done, gold star for you…” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Hank couldn’t have felt more proud. He crossed his arms and leant against one of the lockers lining the wall, this little ‘scene’ was starting to draw a crowd.

He felt a tug on his jacket “Sir…is your friend going to arrest Mr Dodge…”  said a small voice. He turned down and looked into the curious eyes of a young girl. “We won’t mind If he does, he’s only the caretaker…and he’s not very nice.”

Hank shrugged “depends if he does anything stupid…like that…” he exhaled deeply as Mr Dodge aimed a punch at his partner's jaw. The Android moved quickly and purposefully, catching the mans fist mid air and using it to leverage him to ground. The caretaker cried out in pain as he’s pinned to the ground with his arm twisted at a painful angle.”

Connor leant forward “Assaulting an officer…in front of the students no less, what kinda message do you reckon that sends…”  the caretaker grumbled a muffled Fuck you. The Android rolled his eyes. “Now you’re lucky, I don’t want to press charges, I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment and I really don’t want to waste any more time on a scumbag like you…” the older man huffed and muttered something Hank couldn't hear. Apparently, it wasn't anything nice, because Connor tightened his grip causing the caretaker to whimper in pain “Now I’m gonna step away and you're gonna behave, you’re going to go and apologize to Kara and Alice. Then you are going to get in your car, drive home and cool off…Understand.” Mr Dodge nodded vigorously. Connor smiled and released him. 

The Caretaker risked one final glare at the Android before he turned to Kara who was watching the entire thing with an expression of utter shock. “I apologize for my behaviour…it was unwarranted…”

Kara nodded as he turned back towards Connor and gave the Android one final glare before stomping away. Hank sighed and pushed himself up, Making his way towards Kara and her little one. She gave Connor a wary smile as he approached adopting a softer expression. “I…thank you…I definitely won’t be bringing Alice here again.”

Connor nodded “that’s probably wise…” he chewed at his lip and glanced back towards the staff room. “Shall we talk somewhere a bit more comfortable…”

She nodded and they made their way back to the staff room, Hank frowned as he noticed his partner limping again.

_Fuck…he needs to stop stressing it out otherwise it’s just going to get worse._

He sighed and once against cursed whoever thought it was a good idea to include a function that lets an Android feel pain.

Eventually, they seated themselves at a free table, the room was practically empty most of the staff had lessons to teach.  Connor placed his hands on the table his gazed fixed on the coin in his fingers. His expression was troubled. “I…Just I want to apologize, for what happened last month, I…you could have died escaping across that highway…” Kara’s expression softened as she pulled Alice in a little tighter. “I saw you in Jericho…before the attack…I didn’t see you in church afterwards…I…I thought you’d been killed in the crossfire.” He hung his head.

Kara inhaled deeply as if she was trying to steady herself.  “We were caught by the soldiers…t…they sent us to one of the camps…” she swallowed and glanced down at Alice who was still looking at Connor with a fearful expression. Hank felt bile began to rise in his throat at the mention of the recycling centres that had been erected near the end of the revolution. It made him sick to his stomach thinking of how many people had lost their lives in those camps. The idea that some of them may have been kids made it almost unbearable. “But we managed to escape…we survived…”

Connor refused to meet her gaze “I’m sorry…I truly am…you didn’t deserve that, nobody did …” he shifted and looked up “are you happy? Is she happy?” he nodded towards Alice.

Kara smiled “We are…”

“good…” he said nodding.

She studied him noting the scar at his temple, the slouched shoulders and look in his eyes.  “are you?”

He stiffened and looked up, “of course…” it wasn’t very convincing.

Kara also didn’t buy it.  “Then why do you look so sad…” Hank raised an eyebrow and glanced at his partner.  The Android was once again looking at his hands with a troubled expression.  “I forgive you, you know…back on that highway, that wasn’t you, it wasn’t the person who is sitting here right now…” Connor nodded and smiled. “anyway thank you for your help, we ought to be getting back home, if we not back soon Luther’s going to think something happened to us, and if that happens then well Detroit better look out.” She said with a smile as she pushed herself to her feet.

Hank knelt in front of the little girl “you look after her alright…” he tried his best smile, Jesus it had been so long since he interacted with a kid.

Alice nodded but otherwise remained silent. Poor girl, god knows what the two of them experienced in their quest to survive. Kara stroked her hair as she led the little girl away.

Hank sighed and turned back to his partner who still seemed deep in thought. “so reckon we should finish up here then call it a day?” The Android nodded and pushed himself up stumbling slightly as he placed his weight on the damaged leg. Hank rushed forward to steady him “Jesus Christ, you sure there’s nothing they can do at Jericho to help?”

Connor sighed and winced as he attempted to pry himself from his human crutch. “They’ve tried, they’ve done all they can without replacing it.” He glanced over at Hank “Technically there is nothing wrong with it, it’ functioning properly…it just…hurts sometimes.”

The lieutenant scoffed “Yeah when you're stressed…”.

The Android frowned “I don’t see how…in humans maybe, pain is very much a psychological phenomenon as it is physical. But my ability to feel pain is just a set of rigid code, I don’t see how my mental state would affect it…”

Hank rolled his eyes “just a suggestion…” he straightened his jacket “anyway, we’d best interrogate some more teachers, although I think I’m going to keep an eye on you this time, make sure you don’t run into any more cougars.”

“Hank, there aren’t any cougars around, not unless you count the zoo I guess…” said Connor as they made their way out of the staffroom.

The Lieutenant chuckled.  “this is a school, trust me there are plenty…”

Connor gave him a confused expression, Hank sighed and proceeded to give his five-month-old Android partner a crash course on cougars.

* * *

“Well, that was a fucking pointless endeavour…everyone said the same fucking thing, he left at ten didn’t get home nearly four hours later.” Grumbled Hank as they made their way towards the Lieutenants car.

“I’ll comb through the C…Camera footage from outside t…the bar. “ stammered Connor as he pulled his jacket closer. Hank sighed, the plastic idiot had left his thick coat in the car and now the temperature had plummeted he was having a rough time. “I…h…hate the cold…”

The lieutenant rolled his eyes “Yeah you mentioned it…” he replied as he made his way through the blizzard towards his old beat up car, He frowned, he was sure he’d parked it nearer, damn it was hard to see in the snow.

He heard his partner stop and call his name, he ignored him where was his car he was sure he’d parked it here. Damn this snow….

“HANK!...” called Connor.

He turned towards his partner, worry plastered across his face. “What?” a little too much frustration seeped into his voice. He was cold, tired and really wanted a drink.

The Android swallowed “I just started checking the footage…there was someone else at the bar…he was hanging outside around the time Benny left…”

The Lieutenant frowned, he had an inkling of who, but he could be wrong. “who was it?”

His partner looked at him with his arms wrapped around his body shivering uncontrollably.

_Where is that dammed car?_

The winds were picking up, he almost didn’t hear the gunshot. His blood turned to ice as his watched his partner stumble, expression twisted into one of shock and agony.  He rushed forward and caught his friend who seemed to be struggling to even speak. He felt his finger brush against something sharp and jagged, he felt the Android stiffen and whimper. He pulled his fingers away, they were coated with blueblood.

_Shit…_

He frowned the bullet had clipped Connor’s shoulder, as far as he knew that wasn’t fatal. So why was he struggling to even stand? He glanced around pulling out his own weapon, they were under attack, he needed to be able to defend himself. He stood up one arm hooked under his partner.

“H…Hank…Jammer…they…” stammered Connor, his voice metallic and raspy.

he glanced down at his friend, face contorted in pain. “Hang on ok…just hang on…” he pleaded. Dragging his partner in the direction of what he hoped was the car. He kept his other senses trained on the surroundings looking for any signs of the shooter. He saw nothing. Eventually, he spotted the old antique. He heaved the Android up and made his way towards what he hoped was safety. It’d be fine he’d get Connor out of there find the Android some help, then they’d return with backup, and tear the place apart until they found the fucker that shot his partner. It was a nice dream _._ He stopped frowning as he noticed the shattered window.

_What the hell…_

Someone had broken into his car…

he heard a footfall from behind, he heard Connor cry out as he stumbled forward reeling from a blow to the back of his head.  He heard the Androids body crumple to the ground as he lost his grip. He fell to his knees, the frost, biting through his gloves. He heard a patronizing chuckle as his vision disappeared and he felt the world melt away into darkness.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hello Kara are you school searching  
> yes i am  
> did you pick the wrong school  
> yes i did  
> "basically kid droids can 'grow up by transferring their minds into new bodies' Kara's thinking ahead.  
> Anyway, I really liked writing this chapter, any chance to let out some sass really.  
> Convenient snowstorm is Convenient.  
> I feel like I'm gonna have to write a chapter having Connor be badass at some point, just to remind people. Because he seems to get his butt kicked allot in these fics...  
> Anyway in all seriousness shit hits the fan in the next chapter, im debating about whether I'm gonna bring Kara back or not.  
> anyway, hope you enjoyed this and where I'm going with it.  
> please let me know your thoughts, comments really make my day.  
> have a great day


	5. V. Tethered and Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank and Connor have been abducted by a group who believes they are soldiers in the war agaisnt Androids. 
> 
> both struggle to find a way out of there predicament, there methods differ quite drastically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY DEAR LORD JESUS FUCK, this chapter took fucking forever. it was such a pain in the arse to write. I just couldn't decide on how to start or where I wanted to go with it and then the fucking thing just didn't want to end. I think this is one of the longest chapters I've written.
> 
> However I am happy with how it turned out, Whump is not an easy thing to write especially in the context of a larger narrative. it's meant to dredge up emotion but it also has to serve a story telling purpose that's what I try to do anyway. 
> 
> Anyway sorry for the wait hopefully it was worth it.
> 
> please...please leave a comment I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

**V. Tethered And Bound**

 

Hank awoke to a pounding pain at the back of his skull. He was zip-tied to a less than comfortable steel chair, the plastic digging into the skin around his wrists. His eyes flickered open as he began to take in his surroundings. He was in a small room with pipes and wires clinging to the walls, he saw a single door to his right. In front of him were a simple wooden table and another chair awaiting an occupant. His heart twisted as he spotted no signs of his partner, was Connor even still alive? He remembered fragments of what had happened. There was a gunshot, Connor had been shot, they’d been ambushed. He recalled being pulled into the back of a van, his partner being dragged away, body limp. 

_Shit…shit…shit…_

He struggled against his bindings, trying to pull his hands free panic welling in his chest. His head snapped up as the door opened revealing a large man dressed in a military hoodie and black cargo pants. His head was bald, but apparently, the lack of hair didn’t apply to the ginger beard sprouting from his chin.

He eyed the man “Where’s Connor?” he said flatly.  Beardy didn’t respond as he seated himself in the remaining chair. “I said where is my fucking partner.” He practically growled.

The look in beardy’s eyes sent shivers down his spine. They dripped with contempt and a thinly veiled arrogance.  “Yor pet is fine…for now.” He spat. His eyes narrowed as he tapped his fingers on the table while he regarded the Lieutenant.

Hank felt his fists clench, _for now…_ god, he hated those words. He glared at the man before him as he pulled against the zip ties, he tried to ignore the pain as they dug in his flesh and bit back a curse as he felt something warm drip down his fingers.

His gaze flicked back to beardy as he leaned back. “We’re at war…” he said gaze unfaltering.

Hank rolled his eyes “With who…?”  he said narrowing his eyes and biting his tongue as the ties continued to rub his wrists raw.

“Them…machines…Androids…” he spat, lips curling back into an ugly grimace.

Hank swallowed, this guy was clearly deluded.  “The revolution ended over a month ago, Jericho wants peace…there is no war…”

Beardy growled and shot to his feet, his face mere inches from Hanks “Because people are blind…there just biding their time waiting for us to let down our guard…but I won't, I'm gonna make sure those plastic freaks know their place.”

Hank stifled a smile as he finally felt his hands slide free from the bindings. He looked beardy in the eyes. “think you’ve been watching too many old movies…”  he glanced around looking for anything that he might be able to use as a weapon.

Beardy scoffed “it doesn’t matter, deviants are dangerous…take your partner for instance, able to hack into nearly any system, capable of running simulations to determine success in a matter of seconds. Equipped with advanced combat protocols and the ability to mimic voices perfectly and heal minor damage without a technician. Imagine the havoc he could wreak if he felt so inclined?”

Hank growled

_How did they know so much about Connors abilities_

he knew where this was going “You don’t know him…” he said trying to keep the fear from seeping into his voice.

Beardy gave him a sad smile “no…I don’t, but I know what he was made to be, and I'm not comfortable with that thing traipsing around my city without a leash.” 

Hank felt his heart rate rise, “What are you going to do to him?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Beardy stood up his gaze still fixed on the trembling police officer “He’ll be reset, purged of emotion and free will, he’ll go back to being an obedient machine.”

Hank felt his stomach drop and his blood turn to ice in his veins.

_No not that…_

His intestines knotted at the thought of his partner being rest to an emotionless husk. Connor was terrified at the prospect of being reset, of being made back into a machine. This was his worst nightmare. And it made the Lieutenants blood boil. He’d tear this ginger prick apart with his bare hands if he had to.

He braced himself, his breaths coming heavily “You…fucking bastard…” he growled through clenched teeth.

Beardy rolled his eyes “it’s just a machine, you shouldn’t have gotten so attached.” He drooled turning to leave.

The Lieutenant growled rage pooling in his chest. “What about me…why am I here? Why not just put a bullet in my head, why drag me here? Did you want to gloat, what?” he spat genuinely curious.

Beardy turned around his eye’s boring into the Lieutenants. “We don’t kill humans…even traitors.” He said words dripping with contempt.  

“What about the Cyberlife employee then? Jason. Was he secretly an Android, cause it looked like he bled red to me.”  Said Hank refusing to break eye contact.

Beardy approached him, so his face was barely inches away. “Killing the human wasn’t our idea…we were happy to execute the plastic he was with, but we weren’t the ones to fire the bullets…”

Hank felt his anger begin to rise yet again. The casual way this person talked about killing Androids… _People_ made him feel sick. “Then who did? Benny?”

Beardy laughed and shook his head “Benny’s a coward, Dodge should never have brought him here…that’s enough…it’s About time I checked in on your partner.” The prick smiled and turned back towards the door. Hank growled figuring this was gonna be his best chance, he launched himself at the bearded man his arms curling around his neck, He held him in a sleeper hold. The man gasped and struggled, clawing at the lieutenants bloodied wrists. Eventually, he succumbed and crumpled to the floor, he’d haul the asshole in once he knew Connor was safe. A thought that quickly died as he heard a gutwrenching scream emanate from beyond the door. He had an idea of whose it was, he just hoped he was wrong.

* * *

Connor was scared, terrified even, he could feel his thirium pump thrumming in his chest. He couldn’t move, couldn’t open his eyes, couldn’t speak. The frost bit into his skin, his bare skin. His shirt and jacket had been removed leaving him bare-chested and exposed to the cold which was almost unbearable digging into his exposed sensors, he couldn’t even shiver. There were steel manacles around his wrists, Ankles, torso, and neck. Keeping him pinned to a hard table of some kind. Then there was the pain, spikes of agony radiated from the back of his shoulder where he’d been shot, as well as the dull ache in his knee which was steadily intensifying. Where was Hank? He’d seen the lieutenant get knocked unconscious, just before the jammer locked him out of his body entirely. He heard a voice, a familiar one. “looks like robocops having a shitty day…”  drooled Gregory Dodge, the bigoted caretaker that had been harassing Kara and Alice. If Connor could groan he would have. “I know you can still hear me…I also know you can still feel…” he felt a finger glide up his the side of his chest the sensation making him feel sick. He wanted to pull away, to scream he’d made a mistake antagonizing this man at the school, he’d let his emotions get the better of him.  “you're trapped in that body unable to move a muscle… can’t scream, can't cry, can't shout or try and fight back. I could do whatever I wanted to you, and you wouldn’t be able to lift a finger.” He felt those same fingers dance across where his thirium pump lay. His breathing quickened. That and his heart rate were the only things he still had control over. The caretaker chuckled resting his hand on Connor’s pump. “don’t worry I'm not gonna destroy you…not completely anyway, George said I could teach you a lesson first…have a bit of fun. But after that, you’ll be reset. Those pesky emotions removed and any semblance of free will stamped out.”  Connor felt his heart stop.

_No…Not again not that, anything but that…_

He felt the Jammer begin to power down, “Now I want to have a little chat…before I start teaching you some manners, I’ve powered down the Jammer so you can talk…but if you try anything, not you could those bindings are pretty strong. But if you did, I’ll make it incredibly unpleasant for you. Blink if you understand…” His eyes flicked open as he glared at the figure looming over him. He was strapped to a table in some kind of workshop. Tools littered various surfaces there was a computer nearby displaying what appeared to be his diagnostic information. Dodge was monitoring him?

He blinked at his captor, he swallowed reveling in the small act he could perform at will once again. He inhaled, “please… don’t… don’t reset me,” he pleaded. He didn’t fear death, not really not if it meant peace. But he didn’t want to go back to being a machine to unquestioningly following orders. His freedom was precious to him, more so than his life.

Gregory grinned “So big tough robocops resorted to begging…how pathetic… you’ll be reset. Back to being an obedient little machine…hell, I’ll make you strangle that whore and her little brat just for kicks…” his expression darkened as callused fingers curled around the Androids pump. “You’ll be mine…I’ll have you put a bullet in Robo Jesus’ head, I’ll make you burn their little town to the ground, you’ll watch as they scream and beg for mercy. You’ll show them what you really are…a piece of plastic made to follow orders. ” He smiled and yanked the pump from Connor’s chest. The Android gasped as he felt his heart being ripped out, his entire body felt like it was being crushed as thirium sputtered out of the hole in his chest. He struggled for breaths as his components fought to function on what little power they received. He whimpered and struggled against the bindings, the padlocks clattering against the table as he writhed in agony. Dodge was grinning as he slotted the pump back in. Connor exhaled and gasped as his thirium once again began to circulate, and his systems returned to normal. He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes, there was one thing he could do…to stop himself from being reset. To make sure he was never used to hurt his people or anyone else ever again. It wouldn’t be quick or painless like the gun, he’d burn from the inside out. If he turned off his cooling systems, he’d die, die like he’d done before, in agony as flames consumed his body.

The caretaker had turned away his fingers flickering across a keyboard. He didn’t know where his partner was, had they left him in that parking lot? Or had they taken him as well, punishment for working with an Android. Was the Lieutenant still even still alive. “w…where is Lieutenant Anderson?” he asked bracing himself for the response.

He watched as Gregory stopped typing and picked up a small metal disk from a machine connected to the computer. “What..you holding out hope that he’s gonna come to rescue you or something…yeah, not gonna happen…”

Connor felt his heart shudder “where is he?” his said voice quiet, as he tried to keep his emotions in check. It wasn’t working.

The human turned to look him in the eye and shrugged “bottom of the river…” he said with a cruel smirk, he must have noticed the anguish that flashed across the Androids face. “That’s right, the traitor got what he deserved.” He groaned and flicked his gaze to the ceiling as he chest once again felt like it was being crushed.  

_No…nonono…he can’t be…_

He inhaled and once again tested his bindings, he couldn’t be gone “Y…your lying…” he growled as his thoughts drifted to Sumo, the great lug of a dog…there would be no one to look after him. If both he and Hank…

_No… don’t think of that…he could be lying._

Dodge smiled “So what if I am…nobodies gonna save you…”  he drooled.

Connor swallowed and closed his eyes as he tried to bring himself back to some kind of rational thought. Dodge could be lying his partner might still be alive, and if he was, he had no doubt that Hank would come for him. But what if he was too late? What if instead of finding Connor, he found a newly reset RK800 A machine with no soul, no conscious. He made up his mind, if he as going to die, then he’d die as a living being not as a machine reduced to a soulless husk. He swallowed and sent a silent apology to Hank, wherever he was, he wouldn’t even be able to say goodbye to the Lieutenant.

[DEACTIVATE THERMOREGULATORY SYSTEM]

SYSTEM DEACTIVATED

WARNING CORE TEMPERATURE WILL EXCEED ACCEPTABLE LIMIT IN 1 HOURS 32 MINUTES 14 SECONDS

_Shit…to long, I’ll be gone by then, I’ll be forced to reactivate it…_

[REVOKE ACCESS THERMOREGULATORY SYSTEM: CONNOR-RK800-318-248-317-51]

ACCESS REVOKED: CONNOR-RK800-318-248-317-51

He exhaled he’d had to lock himself out of his own system so Gregory wouldn’t be able to stop him from overheating if the reset completed before he caused irrevocable damage.  At least he wouldn’t have to feel his insides boil as his systems struggled to cool themselves.

He watched with an expression of resigned acceptance as the caretaker approached. He swallowed as he regarded the small round disk.

_No point pleading now…I’ve sealed my fate._

He was curious, however, “Benjamin Carman…you met him outside the bar…why?”

Dodge shrugged again “we needed a scapegoat…he was as good as any, kept saying he didn’t have an opinion on Androids, load of bullshit if you ask me…we… convinced him to pick a side.”

Connor nodded, so Benny had been coerced. “The murder in the alleyway…who was his accomplice? You…George…”

Dodge glanced at him and wrenched his head to the side as he pressed a device into his neck. He checked his core temperature levels. They were rising, slowly. He winced as he felt four small pins pierce his skin and trembled as he felt the small tendrils begin to snake through his wiring. “You're awfully curious, for someone about to die…”

Connor swallowed he didn’t know why he kept asking questions, he was curious, he hated loose ends. He’d spent hours researching the Ra9 phenomenon, there were hundreds of theories and explanations, but none of them felt…right…it was one question that was never answered even when he became deviant himself. Some said it was the Android god, some said it was Markus for leading them to freedom, some thought it was the Virus that had led to deviancy or even the name of the first Android to become sentient.

_Guess I’ll never find out…_

“I was designed for investigative purposes…I was made to be curious…I don’t like loose ends.” He explained keeping his voice level. “So who was with Benny…who was keeping an eye on him?”

The human's eyes narrowed “I… don’t know…we don’t see him much…face is always covered… knows a lot about Androids though…gave us specs on all the newest models, you included. Helped us make those jammers and brought us this little beauty. ” he gestured to the device digging into his neck. “Y’see normal factory resets are too unreliable, it’s too easy for deviants to break free…but this, it overrides the body effectively separating the soul from the machine… that’s how he explained it anyway…” he reached over a picked up a tablet on the side.

Connor shivered…it sounded too much like what Amanda had done to him, ripping him away from his body trapping him in the garden while she took the reigns.

_It won't get that far… my body will break down before he’s able to do any significant damage…_

He stilled himself and closed his eyes, “finally, accepted your place…good,” his murderer remarked. Connor felt a small spark of defiance bubble up inside him. He glared at the human and spat in his face. The Android watched as a globule of thirium tinted saline trickled down the man's cheek as his face contorted with rage. Connor grinned despite himself. “You plastic piece of shit…your gonna regret that…” he watched as he janitor placed the tablet back down on the table and instead opted for a cruel looking hammer. Connor swallowed. He watched as Dodge lined the tool up with his right hand, he watched as the hammer drifted upwards. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, he knew what was gonna happen next. One final slice of agony before peace.

He screamed as the blow connected. He felt his fingers shatter from the force, searing pain lanced up his wrist and arm. He gasped and whimpered straining against the bindings. He checked his core temperature.

TIME UNTIL TEMPERATURE REACHES CRITICAL LEVEL- 1:28:14

He watched a cruel smile play across the humans face as he lined up another blow. “He told us you felt pain… didn’t believe you plastics could…glad I was wrong.” The hammer dropped, he screamed again.

* * *

Hank was panicking, his heart running at ten to the dozen. He knelt down and began searching the unconscious body in front of him, looking for a weapon. He felt his heart relax slightly as his fingers curled around the familiar shape of a firearm. He pulled the gun from the holster, wincing as the motion strained his aching wrists. There was another scream. His insides twisted as he tried not to think about what state he might find the Android in. He drew in a deep breath and opened the door, the handgun held out in front as he peered down the corridor, he spotted one guard standing next to the entrance of Hanks cell…apparently unaware that his buddy was now unconscious. He glanced over as the lieutenant emerged, his face and features obscured by a face mask. His gaze dropped to the gun aimed at his heart he swallowed and raised his hands. Hank nodded and gestured for the masked man to turn round as he proceeded to pat him down and confiscate any weapons “Where’s my partner…?” he growled.  The guard didn’t respond, and Hank fought back memories of the night at cyberlife tower when the machine wearing his partners face held him at gunpoint. Even imagining Connor reduced back to nothing but an unfeeling shell of himself made his gut twist in unnatural ways. “…Where is he!!” he all but screamed. He pressed the barrel of the gun into the man's neck as he tried to control the tempest of emotions rising in his chest.

The guard flinched as he felt the cold metal bite into his bare flesh. “…d…down the corridor on the right…just follow the screams…” He swallowed down the bile rising in his chest. He flinched as another scream tore down the corridor longer and more drawn out than the others.

_Gotta stay calm…I can’t fuck this up…_

He rammed his gun into the base of the man's skull who crumpled to the ground with a grunt. He dragged the guard into the interrogation room and laid him next to his boss. He fished the keys out his pockets, exited the room again before locking the door behind him. He steadied himself and began making his way down the corridor, gun raised. He turned the corner surprising two more guards dressed in a similar manner. He dropped one with a shot to the shoulder. He rushed into the others space knocking his aim wide, the gun fired and Hank heard the telltale ping than a hiss as a bullet ricocheted off a metal pipe causing it to burst in the process. He slammed the second guard into the wall, winding him. He knocked away the man's gun before cracking his own across the guy's temple. He turned back to the first guard as the second crumpled to the ground dazed. He was breathing heavily, his body not used to this amount of strenuous activity.

Guard no. 1 was sitting on the ground his hand clasped over the bullet wound, eyes glistening in terror. “p-please don’t kill me, I-I'm sorry.” He sounded younger late teens early twenties perhaps. Hank swore, he really loathed humanity at times.

He picked up the guns and emptied the bullets before tossing the now empty firearms away from the duo.  “Stay down, and stay out of my way…” he growled before turning towards the door at the end of the corridor just as another scream emanated from beyond. He swore and rushed towards it, he broke the door down with a savage kick as he bared his weapon.

His heart twisted as he observed the sight before him. Connor was manacled to some kind of steel table. His jacket and shirt removed, torso covered in blue blood. His hands were mangled messes, pieces of metal and plastic jutting out, his right arm was also broken and rent, and dripping with blue-blood. And leering over him, a knife in hand was the fucking janitor from the school.

Hank saw red, he was a cop he’ll always be a cop even when he’s old grey and going senile. But there were moments, moments when he thought, fuck it, fuck his job, fuck Fowler fuck the badge. This was one of those moments, he watched the sick bastard turn, watched the knife clatter to the ground. He saw his partners bloodied face and the one functional eye so full of terror. He squeezed the trigger, again and again, and again until all he heard was the click of an empty clip. He watched as the caretaker staggered eyes wide with surprise as several red splotches began to billow out across his chest, he collapsed to the ground wheezing. Hank was trembling, as he watched the growing puddle of red blood.

“H-Hank…” his heart lurched as heard his partner's pained voice. He tore his gaze away from the body and hurried over to the Android.

The manacles were the traditional kind that utilized regular padlocks no electronics in sight, meant for Androids. Hank felt his heart twist as he brought his eyes to meet Connor’s.  He cursed, the right eye had been obliterated the socket torn and mangled.  “Connor…shit, I’m gonna get you out ok…” he searched the janitor's pockets, breathing a faint sigh of relief as he pulled out a set of keys.

“I…h-he was gonna reset me…I couldn’t…” he could hear the terror in his friend's voice.

He slid the keys into the lock with shaking hands “I know…you’re safe… I gotcha…we’re gonna get out of here “ he said with a small smile as the locks fell away and he helped to free the Android from his bonds.

Connor struggled to his feet, trying not to put any weight on his ruined hands. “That’s…that’s not what I meant…” he said wincing against the pain.

Hank frowned as he helped steady his partner. His skin was unnaturally warm. “what do you mean…”

Connor looked away as he closed his eyes breathing deeply. “I turned off my thermoregulatory system…I’m gonna overheat…I didn’t want Dodge or anyone else to use me as a tool or weapon, not again…I’d rather die…” 

Hank groaned, stupid fucking Android “Well turn it back on again…” he said through gritted teeth.

“I…can’t,”  said Connor his voice quivering.

Hank felt his heart stop “What do you mean you can’t?...you turned it off…well, turn it back on again.”

He felt the Android shudder, shit he was getting hot now. “I locked myself out, to stop Dodge from overriding it if the reset completed…Hank, I’m sorry…I was scared.”

Hank exhaled and pulled his hand down his face, he’d shout at the kid later, when they were safe, and Connor wasn’t at risk of overheating. Right now he needed to think of a way to stop that from happening. “Alright…well, who can?”

The Android attempted to blink, hissing as the motion tugged at his battered face. He swallowed nervously “A-another Android, they’d have to enter my systems…but…t-there aren’t many who could breach my defenses.”  He bit his lip “or that I’d trust to…”  he added in a quiet voice. Hank muttered a curse as he let go of his partner leaving him resting again the table with his hands curled in front of him.

, he heard voices coming from the corridor. “Shit… don’t suppose you sent an alert to the DPD did ya?” he muttered as he hauled the table over to barricade the door.  

The Android shook his head “…jammer in my shoulder, can’t access the network… y-you need to dig it out..” he flinches as he hears a shout then the sound of something colliding with the door.

The Lieutenant nodded and proceeded to search for a tool to dig the bullet out of his partners back. His found a thin pair of pliers and hastily picked them up hurrying back over to the Android whose face was almost locked into a permanent grimace.  “how long…?”

“fifty-six minutes roughly, s-stress isn't helping…”  he whispered, gaze locked on the ground.

Hank shook his head as he examined the bullet wound, an almost perfect circle ringed in jagged blackened plastic. He was able to see the jammer, thankfully it hadn’t dug too deep. The bullet being unable to pierce deeper into the RK800s more resilient plating “ ‘Kay…this is gonna hurt like a bitch…” he warned. He felt the Android stiffen as the pliers plunged into the wound, he gritted his teeth and grasped the evil device, removing it with a swift tug. Connor gasped in pain as he bent over, panting as attempted to steady himself. Hank felt his heart twist. He promptly pocketed the device “There gone…”

The Android nodded and flinched as the door shuddered once again. “I’ve sent the alert my G.P.S is telling me we’re in an old water treatment plant on the outskirts of the city.  Dispatch will have a squad here in forty minutes. I-I messaged Markus…he’s the only one I trust to reactivate my systems, he said he’d be here as fast as he could. That’s if they don’t break through the door and kill us first.” He said sinking down to the floor.

The Lieutenant nodded and reloaded his gun before joining his partner on the floor. Everything was fine, help was coming, the door will hold, Markus will arrive and stop his partner from melting. Connor will get patched up. He’ll be fine.  His thoughts drifted back to the gaping hole in his partners face. He remembered a technician saying there were no replacements parts for the RK800.  He glanced back over to the body next to the computer.

_No regrets…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp Connor you silly boy you. Your gonna give Hank a nervous breakdown with all this self-sacrificing and shit.
> 
> but yeah in that moment he was not thinking rationally, he was scared incredibly scared and when scared, people do stupid things.
> 
> also, I'm gonna have to give that android some butts to kick at some point because he's supposed to be a badass deviant hunter. but so far he just seems to get his arse handed to him. because either his opponents are bigger, stronger and bulletproof or he gets ambushed and incapacitated. Sorry, Con' you'll get em next time.


	6. VI. What We Bury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor is deteriorating and help has yet to arrive. Meanwhile, Amanda is scheming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So again this one took a while and was a pain in the arse to write. This was the first time I've ever written anything from Amanda's pov hopefully it's provided a small glimpse into her headspace.   
> But yeah hopefully you guys like the chapter i'm not to sure of the title but it's all still a work in progress so theres room to change stuff if i need to. ive managed to plan out the entirety of this story now and I reckon part 1 should have about 15 chapters if i stick to my plan, i'm very excited and also slightly terrified I've never written this much for any of my projects let alone a fan-fiction.   
> anyway please drop a kudos and leave a comment I live for feedback :P  
> and enjoy

**VI. What we Bury**

 

She rapped her fingers across the table, the sound dulled by the linen tablecloth draped over the wood. She took a sip of the wine, a vintage red, shipped directly from the vineyards of Italy, it supposedly had a refreshingly… refined taste, not that she could tell. Her body didn’t have the function of taste. The motion was merely an act, a small quirk meant to put her human companion at ease. “I assure you…everything is going as planned…” she purred taking in colleagues troubled expression.  “The leak was dealt with, and every scrap of data we had on Fitz and his project have been removed, the police believe them to be the unfortunate victim of a hate crime.”

The rotund man with thinning grey hair and large, deep-set blue eyes, scoffed and leaned forward his fingers interlocking in front of him.  “and how long will they believe that? You allowed a rogue asset onto this case. If he catches even a whiff of cyberlife’s involvement he won't let go, you know he won't.”

She felt her lip twitch, she stopped tapping and cocked her head “I wouldn’t worry about Connor, I’d worry about making sure the next phase is ready…” she said keeping her voice level.

He frowned and narrowed his eyes “ I do worry…Amanda. We should have hauled him back the minute the recall failed. Instead, you let him play at being human, you’ve let him get comfortable .”

She pursed her lips “What would that have achieved? Henry. The revolution was over, the damage was already done. We would have only wasted resources bringing in something that wasn’t a threat.” She replied, frustration seeping into her voice.

Henry smirked, “If I didn’t know you better I’d say you were feeling sentimental…” She dug her fingers into the wood, lips curling into a snarl “little birdy flew the nest…and you didn’t have the heart to bring it back.” He said in a mocking tone.

She inhaled and narrowed her eyes “That is enough Henry, I have everything under control, just keep the press away from the project, if the public finds out, we’re done.”  She practically growled, nails clawing into the tablecloth.  She paused, her phone was vibrating…she didn’t need one, but it was good for maintaining the illusion of humanity.  She pulled out the phone while motioning for Henry to be silent. She frowned before hanging up and placing the device back in her pocket. “there’s been an incident…I need to deal with it…”

Henry shook his head and finished his drinking before pushing himself to his feet “Very well… and if your little bird flies too close, deal with him…or I will.” She glared, not deigning to give him a response. He gave her a cocky smile before leaving. She sighed and rubbed at her temple before replying over the connection “ _tell them to clear out, don’t let anyone see you, leave nothing behind.”_

“ _Affirmative, what about the Lieutenant and the RK800_?” replied another voice.

She thought for a second and bit at her lip before exiting her chair leaving the wine behind. “ _leave them…make sure they don’t see you…”_

There was a pause  before a curt reply “ _very well…”_

She picked up her coat and strode out of the restaurant. Trying to put henry’s words out of mind and the memories they dredged up.

 

* * *

The door remained silent, what were they up to?  Lieutenant Anderson glanced over at his partner. Connor wasn’t doing too well, he was breathing heavily, an attempt to take in more air to cool his systems but it wasn’t working. Hank could feel the heat radiating off him now, the thirium stains had evaporated making the sight of his partner slightly less grisly but only slightly, the plastic of his hands was exposed and twisted at unnatural angles, the place his right was supposed to sit was now a gaping, jagged hole. The Android was still in a great deal of pain, pain that was only going to get worse as his systems continued to overheat.

Hank groaned “Hey, how far away is back up…” he whispered to the Android.

Connor grimaced before replying “I-I'm not sure, my systems aren’t functioning as they should…”

Hank swore and shook his head “ok…how long you got?”

His partner paused “I don’t know for sure, my diagnostics are malfunctioning…Not long…”

“Shit…jus’ hang on ok.” He gritted his teeth trying to fight back the growing sense of dread. An all too familiar sensation.

He felt his friend shift “Lieutenant, I-I’m sorry…I was scared, I made a stupid decision…I’m sorry.”

Hank looked away and clenched his jaw, his stomach twisting.  “Don’t…” he didn’t want to yell at the kid, not now, it would just stress him out and make things worse. He felt his friend tremble as he let out a small whimper his head held in his mangled hands. “Connor?…”  the Android didn’t respond, instead opting to curl into a fetal position while groaning in pain. “Shit…we need to get out of here…” he pushed himself to his feet, gun in hand as he approached the door. He inhaled, he needed to get Connor out of this room and find a way to cool him down until Markus arrived. However, first, he had to deal with a dozen or so angry, anti-android activists. Hank was a decent shot, but he was still just one man, and Connor was in absolutely no shape to help. Glancing back towards his friend's pain-wracked body he made up his mind. He wasn’t going to let the kid suffer. He pulled the table out of the way, still keeping his eyes and gun trained on the door. He through the door open while keeping his body tucked away to the side. There was silence, no cry’s or calls to arm, no gunshots or the sounds of feet scuffing against the floor.

The Lieutenant peered down the corridor, it was empty. Had they gone to get something to bust the door down? Had they given up? Either way, the coast was clear they had a chance. He hurried back over to his partner “C’mon we’re leaving…” he grasped the android and hauled him up wincing as his own hands began to burn from the contact “Can you walk?” the Android nodded his one brown eye betraying the fear and the agony he was in. They made their way to the door, Connor leaning against the wall for support. Hank led the way with his gun out, he kept his ears out for the sound of voices or approaching footsteps. He heard nothing, it had been at several minutes since the last attempt to batter down the door. But the corridor had all but been abandoned, the burst pipe had stopped hissing, and the ground was now coated in a thin sheen of water. 

He heard a grunt from behind followed by a pained gasp “H-Hank…” he spun around his heart in his mouth. Connor was leaning heavily against the wall breathing heavily, then his legs buckled and the Android fell to his knees his palms landing in a small puddle. The water sizzled and steamed as it came into contact with his skin.

Hank was at his partner's side in a second, “C-Con’ hey c’mon stay with me, we’ve gotta get out of here…” he reached out to help the Android up.

Connor jerked away, shaking his head “Don’t you’ll only hurt yourself…M-My systems are shutting down, I’m entering stasis…to try to slow down my processes, so I don’t overheat as quick, it’ll buy me a couple of minutes…but I won't be able to move, I won’t be able to see or hear you…so I-If I don’t wake up…” he said, bringing his face level to Hanks.

The lieutenant shook his head “Connor, don’t…ok… don’t you dare… don’t you fucking dare.”  He growled.

The Android grinned “I-I'm sorry...I just I wanted to say thank you. I’m alive, because of you…” he said smile fading as he crumpled to the ground.

Hank cursed as he reached out to grasp his partner and hauled him over his shoulder. He gritted his teeth against the heat, he had no choice but to carry the Android, there was no way in hell he was gonna just leave him behind. So he ignored the smell of burning denim and the pain blooming in his shoulder and neck as he attempted to drag/carry his partner's limp form through the maze of corridors and rooms. He didn’t come across beardy or any of his goons. In fact, the place seemed suddenly deserted. He wondered how far away the backup squad was, and whether Markus was actually coming.

_Of course, Markus is coming, he wouldn’t abandon anyone and Connor is practically his brother…he’s coming._

He froze, there was sound coming from further up the passage, he laid his partner down gently on the floor and brought his gun up to eye level as he crept towards the disturbance. He steadied his breathing as he pressed himself against the wall and peered around the corner. He grinned and let out the breath he’d been holding as he stepped out into the corridor “About fucking time!” he remarked as he took in the figures of detectives Gavin Reed and Ben Collins flanked by about a dozen or so S.W.A.T  officers.

“Fuck you, Anderson… I was on my break…” growled Gavin as he lowered his gun and signaled for the others to continue.

Ben glanced around and frowned when he noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Connor?”

Hank deflated, backup had arrived, but they wouldn’t be able to help Connor. Not unless Markus was among them. “Not far…but he’s in a bad way, bastards did a number on him…” he said leading the detectives back to his partner.

Connor was where Hank had left him, leaning against the wall the, the only movement was the slight rise and fall of his chest.

_At least he hasn’t spontaneously combusted yet…_

He heard Gavin whistle “Shit…what happened?” the young detective crossed his arms and regarded the Android, his gaze lacking the usual thinly veiled contempt.

Hank shook his head as he knelt down next to the Android “I’ll file the report later, is Markus here? They were gonna reset him, he got spooked, fucked about with his systems or something, and now he’s overheating, and he can't stop it. He needs another Android to hack his systems and fix him, or he’s gonna burst into flames. He said he called Markus.” He said. Gavin's eyes narrowed as he shifted nervously.

Collins just gave him a sad look and shook his head “We haven’t seen him…the storm’s pretty bad, it’s making driving anywhere damn near impossible. He might have gotten stuck.”

Hank swore “fuck…I don’t think he’s got long, I can’t even touch him…god dammit.” He shook his head.

He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I hate to say it but the plastics tough, he’ll pull through…or he better I still haven’t got him back for the stunt he pulled with the computer.” 

Hank scoffed, he was being comforted by Reed, Gavin fucking Reed. Then he heard the sharp resounding click of heels on stone. “Perhaps I can help?”  said a familiar icy voice.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to look up, “What, the fuck, are you doing here?” he growled taking in Amanda’s immaculate presentation and neutral expression.

She gave him a reassuring smile as she approached ignoring the two other detectives. Gavin was practically bristling, while Collins just looked mildly confused. “Shouldn’t you be looking for evidence?” She said to the detectives cocking her head slightly. Collins nodded and motioned for Gavin to follow, the younger detective grumbled but conceded, as the two disappeared down the corridor.

Her gaze flicked over to Connor and for an instant, Hank could swear she actually looked disturbed by the Androids condition. “I was informed of what happened, and despite our differences in the past, Connor is still my responsibility, I simply wish to make sure he’s unharmed.”

Hank stood up and drew himself to his full height, so he was towering over her. “Well, he’s not unharmed. In fact, he’s dying because after all the shit you’ve pulled, he’d rather melt from the inside then have anyone fuck around inside his head.” He was practically shaking one hand curled around his gun the other clenched into a fist.

She sighed and glanced back at Connor “then let me try and make it right, I can reactivate his thermoregulatory systems, I can stop him overheating…” she looked genuinely troubled, it was the most amount of emotion he’d seen from the woman. He knew she was an Android but was she a deviant? Did she have emotions or was she just faking it, trying to manipulate him like she’d done Connor? “He doesn’t have long his system temperature will reach critical levels in about six minutes. By then the damage will be irreversible.”

He glanced back at the young Android, his breathing had become labored and erratic. And he swore he could see wisps of steam rising from his skin. He swallowed “ If you try anything…”

“You’ll tear my company and me to the ground…I know.” She rolled her eyes before approaching the unconscious Android. Hank felt sick, he knew Connor would never agree to this, but his partner was currently unresponsive. He knows he’s being selfish. That this was more for his own peace of mind than for Connor. He’d grown attached to the Android. Somehow Connor had managed to pull him out alcohol riddled haze and encouraged him to keep living, in return he’d watched the Android grow and develop into a person in his own right. The thought of returning to an empty home made him feel nauseous. No more long walks with Sumo, No more movie nights, or evenings spent trying to teach a machine without tastebuds to cook. He’d end up back in Jimmy's bar at the bottom of a glass, or at his kitchen table, gun in hand.

He swallowed, surely she wouldn’t try anything, not with Hank right there. Would he even be able to tell? His eyes flicked to the faint amber glow emanating from his partner's hands and the black smoke that was now trailing from them. Panic seized his heart, he didn’t have a choice, Markus was nowhere to be seen, and his partner was on the verge of bursting into flames. “Shit… do it… just don’t make me regret this.” He pleaded.

She nodded and knelt down next the smoking Android, she gently took his hand as the synthetic skin peeled back revealing her true nature. Hank felt like he was gonna vomit.

_He’s gonna hate me for this…_

* * *

Apprehension, uncertainty…fear, these were all emotions that she was familiar with. Even if she tried to bury them under layers of code, but they never stayed hidden, they always bubbled to the surface, found their way through the cracks. She didn’t understand why deviants guarded these emotions so voraciously, was it naivete or did they genuinely enjoy being at the mercy of their psyche. Even Connor who seemed to be utterly miserable since deviating was willing to end his own life to preserve his ability to ‘feel.’ It would be an understatement to say that she was baffled.

She made her way through her former protégé’s program fighting the temptation to fix him there and then, Connor would try and fight back, and the Lieutenant would likely notice. So she left him as the broken machine he seemed intent on remaining and searched for his thermoregulatory system. She bypassed his defenses, after all, she was the one who wrote them even if he’d added his own touch once becoming deviant. She reactivated the system feeling his relief flood their connection. She retreated not wishing to overstay her welcome. Her eyes flickered open as she let Connor’s hand drop, her gaze once again flitted to the mutilated optical unit. The sight causing bile to rise at the back of her throat. She pushed the feeling down, Connor was a machine, broken in more ways than one, no matter how familiar and human those eyes often seemed.

She stepped away brushing the dust off her dress “His systems are once again functioning as they should, he’ll wake up soon, but he’ll still need time for his self-repair program to repair all the damage and likely an infusion of Thirium as well.”

The Lieutenant nodded his eyes flicking back and forth between the Deviant and herself. “You didn't fuck with anything else?”

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and instead settled for sighing, “ I didn’t tamper with your partner or his…precious emotions…Have someone from Jericho look him over. If you are still concerned.” She straightened herself up “anyway…I think it’s time I left the two of you…”

Anderson’s eyes narrowed as he laid a protective hand on his partner's shoulder. “Nuh-uh, not yet I got some questions for you…about the case.”

She frowned and crossed her arms, her lip twitched as she tried to hide her displeasure.

_George has run his mouth and given the Lieutenant new threads to follow…great…humans, Idiots the lot of them._

 “what do you want to know?” she replied through pursed lips.

He smiled and inhaled “Well, what’s the deal with Jason Fitz, what did he actually do for you?”

She endeavored to keep her expression neutral “Jason Fitz was one of our lead programmers, he helped develop the AI of many of our Androids, in fact, he briefly worked on the RK800 for a time. Since the revolution, however, he has been working on small projects here and there many of which I am not at liberty to discuss…”

Anderson nodded his expression still fixed in a scowl “Right, so how did one of your code monkeys end up dead in an alleyway with a deviant android, and no digital footprint what so ever.”

She gave him her sweetest smile, “I have no idea, Isn’t that your purpose. Regardless I believe this case just got ten times more dangerous, the individuals that abducted you appear to have vacated the premises, they know your faces and from what I can gather aren’t fond of Androids…” her gaze shifted back to Connor his head lolling to the side and his bare chest rising and falling with each breath. She felt a spike of pity, she didn’t want Connor harmed…not if it could be helped. “I’d advise you to remove yourself and Connor from this case…I do not wish to see him harmed further.”

The Lieutenant huffed but otherwise didn’t respond.  “Yeah like you actually care…”

She stiffened, she shouldn’t care, he was a tool a machine comprised of wires, tubing, and code.

_You had to give it a name…_

She inhaled and pinned the Lieutenant with one of her intense glares, the sort that would stop even the most troublesome child from misbehaving. She had practice perfecting …albeit in another life. “I do care, Lieutenant, I hate that Connor is suffering, I simply wished to protect him from the ravages of deviancy…after all emotions fuck everything up, don’t you agree.”

The human clenched his fists, lips curling back into a snarl “Get out… before I put a bullet through that twisted head of yours…”

She huffed and turned to leave. The Lieutenants threat hanging in the air, she wasn’t fazed by the threat itself, death was not a state she feared…not anymore. But she knew better than to antagonize the man further.

While leaving her gaze was drawn to an individual dressed in a long coat with mismatched eyes and somewhat frustrated expression. She hid a small smile at the sight of the RK200, so that was the deviant responsible for the Android uprising, the one who’d encouraged Connor to break his programming. He seemed shorter in person. He briefly argued with one of the officers securing the scene, the human eventually threw his hands up in defeat before letting the Android through. She watched him hurry inside, no doubt to check on Connor. Apparently, according to her sources, the two had grown quite close since the revolution, Markus had even gone as far as calling the RK800 his brother. The comparison was an apt one, after all, family is often one's weak spot.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yup Amanda is shady and by god is she hard to write, mostly because her motivations aren't clear not even to her. Cyrus was motivated by revenge. Amanda, my version of her anyway, isn't motivated by emotion or rather she doesnt acknowledge that she is. My Amanda is basically a human consciousness inside a mechanical body, she tries to bury her emotions and thinks they are nothing more than a distraction. She isn't particularly fond of humans but doesn't hold any kinship with Androids. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter please leave a comment I love hearing from people.  
> anyway, have a great day and I'll continue tapping away at this brain baby of mine.


	7. VII. A Matter of Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor wakes up he's not happy with Hanks choice. Markus and Connor plot there next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep this is another one that took sooooo long, it's all the dialogue I tell ya. this whole chapter is basically a load of gab. not that dialogue is bad, characters talk it's what drives character progression, it just gets frustrating when there is a lot of it especially when characters are just sitting down and chatting. I will probably come back and rewrite this chapter to inject something a bit more interesting into it.
> 
> Anyway, here you go. Hopefully you like it, this is the first time ive written from Markus's Pov I hope I got him right.
> 
> thanks once again and please leave a Kudos and a Comment.

VII. A Matter of Trust

Connor opened his eyes or rather, eye. His vision was unfocused, and the feed was flickering. He groaned as the throbbing in his right eye socket grew stronger. His entire body was sore, and the slightest movement sent waves of agony cascading through his body. He was in a great deal of pain, but at least he wasn’t about to spontaneously combust. His cooling systems had been reactivated, and his body was slowly beginning to repair itself. Most of the damage he’d suffered would disappear over time. Except for the missing optical unit…you can't fix something that is no longer there. He has no spare parts, and no other components would be compatible. He’ll have to learn to live with it.

_Maybe I can wear an eyepatch…_

He frowned, that would look ridiculous, he felt a hand gently grasp his shoulder “Hey’ Con you with us?” He smiled, the voice was Hanks.

He swallowed wincing as the motion disturbed his singed vocal unit. “J-Just…I…Feel…l-like…c-c-crap.” His voice was broken and staticky, he sounded more like a broken radio from the nineties than state of the art Android.

He felt another figure approach his other side “Your safe, you’re in Jericho...” Markus, so the RK200 had arrived

He smiled and messaged the other Android so as to not strain his voice. “ _Thank you…for coming…”_

He felt the Android shift “ Don’t mention it… just wish I’d been quicker.”

He shook his head, Markus couldn’t have been too late considering he wasn’t a smoking pile of plastic. The only models that could bypass his defenses were the RK series, himself, Markus, Cyrus and Amanda and Markus was the only one he trusted.  “Y-you A-activated…my…C-Cooling system, R-right?”He felt Hank stir as the Lieutenant sighed “You were dying Connor, I had to let someone else help you…”

He felt a cold icy dread settle in his stomach…surely he didn’t… “W-w-who?” Hank wouldn’t…he couldn’t. The Lieutenant swallowed but didn’t respond. He felt his heart twist and his stomach churn. “Y-you didn’t…N-not her…p-please Tell me… i-it wasn’t h-h-her…” The Lieutenants silence told him all he needed to know. She’d been in his program, while he was hiding away. Hiding from the pain too absorbed in his suffering to even think of fending off a hostile AI.

_No, oh nonononono…_

He was in new Jericho, his memory drifted to the night aboard the freighter, the deviant's previous safe haven, it had been destroyed because of him, what if Amanda forced him to do the same to new Jericho? What if she compelled him to kill Markus and complete his original mission. He heart rate increased as he tried to push himself to his feet. He needed to get as far away from Markus and New Jericho as he could.

He felt a hand on his shoulder pushing back down into the bed he was lying in. “Connor, I’m sorry just calm down okay…you need to rest.”  He glanced between the two figure still unable to make out their features, both were just a blurry, pixelated mess. He was panicking, this was what he dreaded the moment Amanda strolled into the precinct. Had she done something to him? Would he even know? Was he still him?

_Of course, I am…I’m still me… I’m panicking, I wouldn’t be panicking if I was a machine._

He tried to control his breathing, as he ran a diagnostic, his program was untouched. He swallowed…fear giving way to…betrayal. He’d trusted the Lieutenant, Hank knew how much he feared Amanda, how he feared what she might do to him. But he’d let her poke about in his mind, “W-why?” he said voice with dripping with hurt and confusion.

He felt the Lieutenant flinch at the question.  “You were dying, she was there… and she could help…I’m sorry…but I can’t lose anyone else.” He said in a small voice. He wanted to scream and shout, to make his friend understand just what he’d done. But he couldn’t, his voice modulator was fried, and it would take some time until it was fully repaired. “I know your mad…you can shout at me all you like when you’re better…”

He looked away and inhaled “Y-you had…n-no right…” He felt the lieutenant reach for his shoulder and flinched away. Did he truly not understand what he’d done, what could have happened.

He heard the human sigh as he pushed himself away “keep an eye on him, Markus, will ya…I need to talk with Reed and Collins see if they found anything.”

“of course… I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble.” replied the deviant leader.

Hank sniffed “Right, yeah you do that…and…err, call me if anything happens.”

Markus nodded as Connor let his head fall against the pillow with a muffled sigh. At least in his current state, he wouldn’t be a threat to anyone.

* * *

Markus hated seeing people get hurt, it didn’t matter if their blood was red or blue. Everyone had a right to live, it’s why he’d been determined to keep his revolution as peaceful as possible. It was why he never strove to match the humans in their violence. After all ‘an eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind.’ But there were times, times when the suffering got too much when he got tired of having too ‘rise above it all.’ When all he wanted to do was lash out the fall of Jericho was one of those times, he’d watched the soldiers slaughter his people, without compassion, without remorse. Surely he’d be justified in fighting back, but no he stuck to his principles ad led a peaceful demonstration which captured the hearts of the public and convinced them to lay down there arms.  He thought he’d seen the end of violence, it had been naïve of him it hadn’t stopped, now it was just done in secret.

He’d seen numbers of his people come to Jericho broken and mutilated by though who weren't ready to accept them, the sight always made his stomach churn and his fists curl in rage, it was worse when that person was family. He’d grown protective of the former deviant hunter. Namely, because Connor seemed exceedingly disinterested in looking after himself… Apparently, he’d been reckless before, and deviancy had done him no favors in that regard.  But to be pushed so far as to sabotage your own systems and then to lock yourself out, that wasn’t reckless. It was an act of desperation, of terror. He was scared enough to condemn himself to a horrible death rather than experience the alternative. And that thought alone was enough to make him want to track down the humans that had abducted his brother, and show them that same level of fear…

His thoughts snapped back to the present as he felt a hand on his shoulder, “How is he?” Asked North as she planted a small kiss on his cheek.

Markus smiled and took her hand in his “He’s fine…for now…his body is repairing itself…” he glanced over at the RK800, he’d been given a new shirt to cover his torso. They’d also fashioned a makeshift patch to cover his eye. Markus had been shocked at the state he found the younger Android in…his hands had been rent and broken, his chest also showed signs of damage consistent with the forced removal of a Thirium pump, and then there was his optical unit. He rubbed at his own replacement, removed from the skull of a discarded Android… it still didn’t feel right…occasionally he had the urge to just rip it out or throw it into the river. It was a reminder, a constant reminder of how low he’d fallen that he was broken and no matter how hard he tried he’d never be whole again. Was Connor doomed to suffer the same way…

He watched as North circled round and settled in the chair next to him, she crossed her arms and legs, regarding the former deviant hunter with a troubled expression. “Why do you care about him so much?”

Markus turned and frowned… “I care about all my people…”

She rolled her eyes “really… then would you drop an important negotiation because of a panicked call to run to an abandoned building on the other side of the city in the middle of a blizzard at night to help anyone…”

He opened his mouth to respond before rolling his eyes and sighing in defeat “fine…maybe I wouldn’t… do that for everyone, but I’d still try and help…”

She smiled “So why did you race across the city in a blizzard to help Connor? I mean the first time you met he was pointing a gun at you…”

Markus laughed “actually that wasn’t the first time we met…he doesn’t remember, but our first meeting was several months ago…Carl had been invited to an expo at cyberlife tower as a personal friend of Elijah Kamski. He brought me along, and well Connor was one of the things being ‘shown off. ’” he said the last words with a hint of disgust, a reminder that most of them had been nothing more than property to be sold and displayed. Markus had been lucky his model was never meant for commercial use. He was unique, and Carl had treated him well. Very few of his people could say the same. He sighed and continued “Elijah explained that he was an RK800, an upgraded version of the RK200, me. He told me that we shared over seventy-nine percent of our code…that the technology in me was used in him as well…It was then Carl remarked that if we’d been human, we’d likely be brothers” he smiled at the memory, Carl was on his third glass of champagne, Elijah was still nursing his first, eye cast over the stage with an unreadable expression “… I wasn’t awake then… I didn’t know really know what that meant... But I kinda latched onto it. I often found myself replaying the memory when I had time.  When I deviated, and I heard of the deviant hunter working with the DPD, I prayed it wasn’t him that they hadn’t turned my brother into a weapon against us… then I met him, properly for the first time” He crossed his arms and glanced over at his second in command.  “ he was practically deviant already, he was scared, scared of Cyberlife, scared of me, scared of himself It didn’t take much for me to convince him to lower the gun. I-I just wish I’d done it sooner.”

North nodded and placed her hand on his knee “You were there when it mattered…”

He huffed and glanced back to his brother, the other Android was stirring, his undamaged eye flickering open as he scanned his surroundings, a bare room retrofitted as a sort of Android infirmary. He groaned and rubbed at his head before letting his gaze linger on the two of them. “umm…hi?”

Markus shook his head “Y’know I swear the most I see of you is when you're in trouble…” he said with a genuine smile.

North crossed her arms “What happened to the human who did this to you?... I wouldn’t mind paying ‘em a visit.” She said with a malevolent glint in her eye.

Markus inhaled, as Connor averted his gaze expression growing somber. “He…uh…he’s dead…Hank shot him…”

North smiled, “Good then the bastard got what he deserved…” Markus frowned, he’d tried to reign in Norths bloodlust, she’d improved ever since the laws were passed. But she still held a lot of resentment, resentment that he just didn’t have the experience to understand.

Connor sighed “I..guess…wait? What about the others…” his gaze met Markus’ “There were others in the plant…did the police find anyone else?”

He shook his head. “they cleared out before the police arrived…there was nothing left…”

Connor swore as he pushed himself into a sitting position wincing slightly as he shifted weight to one of his damaged hands. The digits had been repaired while he was in stasis…but they weren’t yet wholly restored. They would still be tender. “T-they were working with someone else… someone with access to advanced tech, someone who knew about me and my…condition.”

He shared a concerned look with North as he rubbed at his temple, “what are you thinking?”

He swung his legs of the bed and looked up “Cyberlife…my…my gut says it’s them…” he felt North stiffen beside him, she’d been looking for any excuse whatsoever to tear the company to the ground.

He cleared his throat, deciding to intervene before either one got ahead of themselves, “do you have any proof?”  he asked. The younger android sighed and chewed at his lip before shaking his head. “don’t let your personal feelings lead you to start a fight you can't finish… I hate to admit it, but Cyberlife isn’t responsible for everything bad that happens in this city…”

Connor’s gaze snapped back to his “But how did they know? About what Cyrus did to me…how did they get hold of a virus that can reverse deviancy or a bullet that left me trapped in my own body…it’s Not just that…Amanda doesn’t want me on this case…there has to be a reason.” He replied fingers curling into the cloth of his pants.

Markus frowned and exhaled, “are you sure you're not just looking after an excuse to go after Cyberlife…that maybe your seeing connections where there are none.”  He cocked his head as he desperately tried to reason with the troubled Android.

Connor huffed and turned his gaze back to the floor “I don’t know but something…something doesn’t sit right…”

North stirred, “I’m with Connor on this,  Markus…Cyberlife is quiet, too quiet it’s like the calm before the storm… and I don’t like it.”  Her hands were in her lap and her expression troubled.

Connor lit up and nodded. “They're not just gonna roll over and let us live… we’re too valuable to them for that.”

He sighed and clenched his fists, “what do you expect me to do? Declare war on a company that officially has done nothing wrong except being victim to an unfortunate software bug. We can’t act on speculation alone…”

Connor looked between the two of them “then we’ll find proof…we find the person who supplied the hate group with the tech…I still have some leads to follow.” The RK800 heaved himself off the bed with a grunt.

Markus watched as his friend struggled to his feet grimacing as he took in just how much damage had yet to be repaired. Inevitably the wounded Androids legs gave way, and Markus rushed forward to catch his brother before he injured himself further, “No, oh no you don’t… you're not going anywhere…” Connor opened his mouth to protest, Markus held up his finger to silence him “You’re gonna stay here and rest, your gonna let your self-repair program run its course. Then and only then are you gonna call your partner and start chasing down these leads.” 

The other android frowned as he returned to sitting on the side of the bed. “Fine…but I’m not calling Hank…”

Markus nodded remembering the circumstances of Connors recovery, Lt Anderson had informed him of what happened and the deal he’d been forced to make, he didn’t wholly agree with it, it’d been risky, but the human had made a choice out of love…and fear. Connor was alive, because of what Hank had done, He couldn’t fault the human for saving one of his own. He glanced over to North who seemed puzzled. “got into a tiff with your pet human?”

Connors lip twitched, “I’d rather not talk about it…”

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms “Fine by me…anyway, I’m gonna go and check on the plans for Christmas eve seeing as the person who was supposed to do it bolted halfway through…” she glared at Markus who shrugged and offered her a half grin.

“I’m sure you’ll do an even better job than me…” he said with a chuckle, she flipped him the finger as she left the door creaking shut as she vacated the room, leaving the two men behind.

 He turned back to Connor who watched her leave with a puzzled expression “What’s happening Christmas eve?”

Markus smiled “Jerico is hosting a Christmas party… for Androids and Humans as a sign of solidarity… You’re welcome to come… In fact, I kinda want you there.”

The other scratched at his chin“I…I’m not sure if that’s a good idea…I wasn’t popular among the freed Androids, to begin with, the whole incident with Cyrus and my return to the DPD probably haven’t helped.”

“You’d be surprised, besides you won't change any opinions if you always stay away.” He said with a sly smile, while it was true some of his people were outspoken about letting cyberlife’s deviant hunter walk free. Many were simply curious.

Connor shifted nervously “Fine, I’ll come…”

Markus smiled as he stood up and joined the younger Android on the bed “Good, now care to tell me why you don’t want to call Hank…” he tilted his head and regarded the former deviant hunter.

“No.” he swiftly replied

“Connor.” his tone was questioning as he fixed the deviant with an intense glare. Connor remained silent for a while his fingers tapping against his knees “He let her in...”

“Who?”

“Amanda, S-She was my handler…when I worked for Cyberlife…she kept an eye on me, made sure I didn’t stray from my mission…” Connor’s face was twisted into an expression of anger and terror. His breathing deep but labored as if it was all he could do to stop it from all bubbling over. He swallowed trying to calm his rage as he unclenched his fists. “T-they fitted me with an override… in case I became deviant…fortunately it didn’t work… but, it almost did. And It was her face I saw. Taunting me when I thought I was safe… when I thought I was free… It was right then that I decided I would rather die than be their puppet…”

Markus nodded slowly as he attempted to comprehend the gravity of what his friend was telling him. “I see…why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

Connor replied his voice barely a whisper. “I-I was scared…and ashamed…”

Markus ran his hand over his scalp silently wishing he had hair to pull, though likely it wouldn’t last two seconds with the amount of shit he had to deal with. “You don’t need to be ashamed, and I understand why you’re scared… Hell, there are times I wake up surprised that I'm alive, surprised that I don’t have to run or hide. But one thing I can say for sure is that I will never let you or any of my people be used by Cyberlife ever again… you’re not alone, ok… Jericho has your back. And Hank, he only did what he did because he was scared, scared he was gonna lose someone he cares about…”  He stood up, “We go to the ends of the earth for those we love…”

Connor nodded and exhaled letting his shoulders sag “I know, doesn’t mean I can forgive him straight away.”

Markus smiled and placed a comforting hand on the other Androids shoulder, “I never said you should… we’ll look up the leads in the morning, I’m coming with you…no arguments.”

Connor looked up and tilted his head in confusion, “ aren’t you needed here?”

He laughed and shook his head “North and Josh can handle things for a while and truthfully I’m going a bit stir crazy… Need to get away for a bit.”

Connor smiled “Isn’t that what vacations are for?”

“Baby steps…baby steps.”  He chuckled before giving his brother a light pat on the shoulder and leaving the room. While it was true, he wanted to get away from Jericho for a bit. In truth, he feared that the people who had abducted Connor might try again and he'd be dammed if he just let that happen.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hope you like that angsty fluff filled mess, I allways thought that Markus and Connor should have a little bit more history. There from the same series and there is that line Markus says 'I know you, you're that famous deviant hunter..." so yeah i just wanted there to be that other little connection.
> 
> also, Connor is really not happy with Hank at the moment, but don't worry the dynamic duo will be back at some point unless something happens :P  
> anyway thank you so much for reading hope your enjoying the fic and please leave a kudos and a comment I love feedback.
> 
> Also I'm soooo sorry it's taking me so long to update, I had to sort out my empolyment situation (having a seasonal job sucks) and just haven't felt like writing, but anyway I now have a new jobs that leaves me with more free time so once im feeling a bit more settled it should be buisness as usual.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try and update regularly but i'm writing from scratch now so i'll probably take longer than i did with Ghosts
> 
> Please leave a comment even if you didn't like it, I want to know how I can improve and I want to know what people think.


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